DNA Antibody Constructs And Method Of Using Same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a composition including a recombinant nucleic acid sequence that encodes an antibody. Also disclosed herein is a method of generating a synthetic antibody in a subject by administering the composition to the subject. The disclosure also provides a method of preventing and/or treating disease in a subject using said composition and method of generation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/142,457, filed Sep. 26, 2018, which in turn is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/103,970 filed Jun.13, 2016, which is the U.S. national phase application filed under 35U.S.C. § 371 claiming benefit to International Patent Application No.PCT/US14/70188, filed Dec. 13, 2014, which is a continuation ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/US13/75137, filed Dec. 13,2013, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAMLISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED AS AN ASCII TEXT FILE

The present application hereby incorporates by reference the entirecontents of the text file named “206108-0033-12US_SequenceListing.txt”in ASCII format. The text file containing the Sequence Listing of thepresent application was created on Dec. 17, 2021, and is 178,444 bytesin size.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a composition comprising a recombinantnucleic acid sequence for generating a synthetic antibody, or fragmentsthereof, in vivo, and a method of preventing and/or treating disease ina subject by administering said composition.

BACKGROUND

The immunoglobulin molecule comprises two of each type of light (L) andheavy (H) chain, which are covalently linked by disulphide bonds (shownas S-S) between cysteine residues. The variable domains of the heavychain (VH) and the light chain (VL) contribute to the binding site ofthe antibody molecule. The heavy-chain constant region is made up ofthree constant domains (CH1, CH2 and CH3) and the (flexible) hingeregion. The light chain also has a constant domain (CL). The variableregions of the heavy and light chains comprise four framework regions(FRs; FR1, FR2, FR3 and FR4) and three complementarity-determiningregions (CDRs; CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3). Accordingly, these are very complexgenetic systems that have been difficult to assemble in vivo.

Targeted monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) represent one of the mostimportant medical therapeutic advances of the last 25 years. This typeof immune based therapy is now used routinely against a host ofautoimmune diseases, treatment of cancer as well as infectious diseases.For malignancies, many of the immunoglobulin (Ig) based therapiescurrently used are in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy regimensdirected against tumors. This combination approach has significantlyimproved overall survival. Multiple mAb preparations are licensed foruse against specific cancers, including Rituxan (Rituximab), a chimericmAb targeting CD20 for the treatment of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma andIpilimumab (Yervoy), a human mAb that blocks CTLA-4 and which has beenused for the treatment of melanoma and other malignancies. Additionally,Bevacizumab (Avastin) is another prominent humanized mAb that targetsVEGF and tumor neovascularization and has been used for the treatment ofcolorectal cancer. Perhaps the most high profile mAb for treatment of amalignancy is Trastuzumab (Herceptin), a humanized preparation targetingHer2/neu that has been demonstrated to have considerable efficacyagainst breast cancer in a subset of patients. Furthermore, a host ofmAbs are in use for the treatment of autoimmune and specific blooddisorders.

In addition to cancer treatments, passive transfer of polyclonal Igsmediate protective efficacy against a number of infectious diseasesincluding diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, rabies, tetanus, chicken-poxand respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In fact, several polyclonal Igpreparations provide temporary protection against specific infectiousagents in individuals traveling to disease endemic areas incircumstances when there is insufficient time for protective Igs to begenerated through active vaccination. Furthermore, in children withimmune deficiency the Palivizumab (Synagis), a mAb, which targets RSVinfection, has been demonstrated to clinically protect against RSV.

Antibody based treatments are not without risks. One such risk isantibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), which occurs when non-neutralisingantiviral proteins facilitate virus entry into host cells, leading toincreased infectivity in the cells. Some cells do not have the usualreceptors on their surfaces that viruses use to gain entry. Theantiviral proteins (i.e., the antibodies) bind to antibody Fc receptorsthat some of these cells have in the plasma membrane. The viruses bindto the antigen binding site at the other end of the antibody. This viruscan use this mechanism to infect human macrophages, causing a normallymild viral infection to become life-threatening. The most widely knownexample of ADE occurs in the setting of infection with the dengue virus(DENV). It is observed when a person who has previously been infectedwith one serotype of DENV becomes infected many months or years laterwith a different serotype. In such cases, the clinical course of thedisease is more severe, and these people have higher viremia comparedwith those in whom ADE has not occurred. This explains the observationthat while primary (first) infections cause mostly minor disease (DF) inchildren, secondary infection (re-infection at a later date) is morelikely to be associated with severe disease (DHF and/or DSS) in bothchildren and adults. There are four antigenically different serotypes ofDENV (DENV-1-DENV-4). Infection with DENV induces the production ofneutralizing homotypic immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies which providelifelong immunity against the infecting serotype. Infection with DENValso produces some degree of cross-protective immunity against the otherthree serotypes. In addition to inducing neutralizing heterotypicantibodies, infection with DENV can also induce heterotypic antibodieswhich neutralize the virus only partially or not at all. The productionof such cross-reactive but non-neutralizing antibodies could be thereason for more severe secondary infections. Once inside the white bloodcell, the virus replicates undetected, eventually generating very highvirus titers which cause severe disease.

The clinical impact of mAb therapy is impressive. However, issues remainthat limit the use and dissemination of this therapeutic approach. Someof these include the high cost of production of these complex biologicsthat can limit their use in the broader population, particularly in thedeveloping world where they could have a great impact. Furthermore, thefrequent requirement for repeat administrations of the mAbs to attainand maintain efficacy can be an impediment in terms of logistics andpatient compliance. New antibodies that would reduce or eliminate thelow in vivo efficacy of therapeutic antibodies due to competition withserum IgGs are needed. New antibodies that can eliminate antibodydependent enhancement in viruses like Dengue, HIV, RSV and others areneeded. Bispecific antibodies, bifunctional antibodies, and antibodycocktails are needed to perform several functions that could provetherapeutic or prophylactic. Additionally, the long-term stability ofthese antibody formulations is frequently short and less than optimal.Thus, there remains a need in the art for a synthetic antibody moleculethat can be delivered to a subject in a safe and cost effective manner.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a nucleic acid molecule encoding asynthetic antibody comprising a nucleic acid sequence having at leastabout 95% identity over an entire length of the nucleic acid sequenceselected from the group consisting of: (a) a nucleic acid sequence asset forth in SEQ ID NO:44; (b) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth inSEQ ID NO:67; (c) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:69;(d) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:71; (e) a nucleicacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:73; (f) a nucleic acid sequenceas set forth in SEQ ID NO:75; (g) a nucleic acid sequence as set forthin SEQ ID NO:77; (h) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:58; (i) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:60; and (j)a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:65. The presentinvention is further directed to a method of preventing a disease in asubject in need thereof, the method comprising administering the abovenucleic molecule to the subject. The present invention is furtherdirected to a method of treating a disease in a subject in need thereof,the method comprising administering the above nucleic molecule to thesubject.

The present invention is also directed to a nucleic acid moleculeencoding a synthetic antibody comprising a nucleic acid sequenceencoding a protein having at least about 95% identity over an entirelength of the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of:(a) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:45; (b) an aminoacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:68; (c) an amino acid sequenceas set forth in SEQ ID NO:70; (d) an amino acid sequence as set forth inSEQ ID NO:72; (e) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:74;(f) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:76; (g) an aminoacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:78; (h) an amino acid sequenceas set forth in SEQ ID NO:59; (i) an amino acid sequence as set forth inSEQ ID NO:61; and (j) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:66. The present invention is also directed to a compositioncomprising the above nucleic acid molecule. The present invention isfurther directed to a method of preventing a disease in a subject inneed thereof, the method comprising administering the above nucleicmolecule to the subject. The present invention is further directed to amethod of treating a disease in a subject in need thereof, the methodcomprising administering the above nucleic molecule to the subject.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding an IgG heavy chain asdescribed in Example 1.

FIG. 2 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding an IgG light chain asdescribed in Example 1.

FIG. 3 shows a graph plotting time (hours) vs. OD 450 nm (1:100 dilutionof tissue culture supernatant).

FIG. 4 shows an image of a Western blot.

FIG. 5, comprising FIG. 5A through FIG. 5C, shows generation andconfirmation of expression of pHIV-1Env-Fab. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B depictcircular plasmid maps of pHIV-1 Env Fab anti-gp120 Fab expressingconstruct were designed using VRC01 heavy (H) and light (L) variablechain Ig genes. Several modifications were included when constructingthe Fab plasmids in order to increase the level of expression. The FabVL and VH fragment genes, as shown, were cloned separately between theBamH1 and Xho1 restriction sites of the pVax1 vector. FIG. 5C depictsexemplary experimental data demonstrating the in vitro expression ofpHIV-1 Env Fab. The graph indicated the temporal kinetics of expressionof the pHIV-1 Env Fab after transfection of 293T cells. The valuesindicated, indicative of expression, are mean OD450 nm±SD of triplicatewells. As a control 293T cells were also transfected with the pVax1backbone.

FIG. 6, comprising FIG. 6A through FIG. 6D, shows measurement oftemporal generation of anti HIV Env specific Fab by pHIV-1 Env Fab. FIG.6A depicts the time course of generation of anti-HIV1 Fab. Afteradministration of pHIV-1 Env Fab, production of the specific Fab wasmeasured over 10 days in the sera at a final dilution of 1:100 by ELISAand presented as OD450 nm. Sera from pVax1 administered mice were usedas a negative control. FIG. 6B depicts comparative measurement ofanti-gp120 antibody responses after immunization with recombinant gp120(rgp120). As described in Example 2, mice were immunized with a singleinjection of rgp120 followed by measurement of production of anti-gp120antibodies up to 10 days and presented as OD450 nm values. PBS was usedas a negative control injection for this study. FIG. 6C depictsconfirmation of HIV1Env-Fab binding by immunoblot analysis. As indicatedin Example, either 5 or 10 μg of gp120 were subjected to SDS-PAGE andnitrocellulose blotting followed by incubation of the blots with serafrom pHIV-1 Env Fab administered mice. The immunoblot indicated that theexperimental sera recognized bound rgp120, confirming the specificity ofthe generated Fab. FIG. 6D depicts temporal quantitation of humanIgG1Fab, measured as IgG1 in mouse sera following pHIV-1Env-Fabadministration. IgG1 was measured by a standard ELISA kit, at the timepoints indicated, and expressed as Fab (μg/mL)±SD. Sera frompVax1-administered mice were used as a negative control. Sera sampleswere analyzed at the time points indicated on the x-axis. The arrowshown in the graphs displayed in FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B and FIG. 6D indicatethe point of DNA plasmid administration.

FIG. 7, comprising FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, shows FACS binding analysis HIV1Env Fab to clade A HIV Env glycoprotein. FIG. 7A depicts FACS scansindicating binding of anti-HIV1Env-Fab to HIV-1 clade A Envglycoprotein. DNA expressing either a consensus (pCon-Env-A) or“optimized” (pOpt-Env-A) HIV-1 clade A envelope was transfected into293T cells. Two days post transfection, cells were stained with eitherpurified native VRC01 Ig, sera generated from pHIV-1 Env Fab (collected48 hours after a single plasmid administration) or control Ig generatedfrom pIgG-E1M2 administration. Sera and VRC01 antibody were diluted 1:4or 1:100, respectively in 50 μl of PBS and incubated at room temperaturefor 30 minutes. Cells were then stained with the appropriate secondaryphycoerythrin (PE) conjugated Igs and subsequently gated for FACSanalysis as singlet and live cells. The percent binding of positivecells was indicated in each of the scans. FIG. 7B depicts a graphicalrepresentation of the FACS binding data. The number of stained cells(i.e. indicative of expression levels) in each of the Ig/sera testedgroups was divided by the background staining values and presented aspercent of specific binding on the y-axis as a function of the differentHIV clade A Env preparations tested.

FIG. 8, comprising FIG. 8A through FIG. 8D, shows time course ofneutralization of HIV-1 by sera from pHIV-1Env-Fab administered mice.Sera used for analysis of neutralization activity sera were collected atthe time points indicated in the graphs. The neutralization analysis wasconducted in TZM-BL cells using a panel of HIV-1 pseudotyped viruses.FIG. 8A depicts Bal26 (Clade B, Tier 1). FIG. 8B depicts Q23Env17 (CladeA, Tier 1). FIG. 8C depicts SF162S (Clade B, Tier 1), and FIG. 8Ddepicts ZM53M (Clade C, Tier 2). Cells were infected at an MOI of 0.01as delineated in Example 2 and incubated in the presence of sera (finaldilution of 1:50) containing Fab generated from pHIV-1 Env Fabadministration. Percent neutralization values are shown, the calculationof which was described in Example 2. As well, horizontal lines areprovided in each of the graphs, indicating the approximate time pointsat which the experimental sera mediated 50% viral neutralization.

FIG. 9 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavy chain (VH-CH1)of the HIV-1 Env Fab described in Examples 2-7.

FIG. 10 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chain (VL-CL)of the HIV-1 Env Fab described in Examples 2-7.

FIG. 11 shows immunofluorescence of cells transfected with a plasmidencoding HIV Env. The cells were stained with preparations from pVAX1(left panel) or pHIV-Env-Fab (right panel).

FIG. 12 shows a graph plotting type of antigen vs. sera concentration(ng/mL).

FIG. 13 shows a schematic of a construct encoding a synthetic human IgG1antibody.

FIG. 14 shows a schematic of the assembled antibody (upon expression)that is encoded by the construct of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 shows the amino acid sequence of the VRC01 IgG.

FIG. 16, comprising FIG. 16A through FIG. 16C, depicts experimentalresults.

FIG. 16A depicts a schematic of the construct encoding HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig.FIG. 16B depicts a schematic of the vector containing the construct of(FIG. 16A); and FIG. 16C depicts an image of a stained gel.

FIG. 17, comprising FIG. 17A through FIG. 17C, depicts experimentalresults.

FIG. 17A depicts a schematic of the construct encoding HIV-1 Env-4E10Ig. FIG. 17B depicts a schematic of the vector containing the constructof (FIG. 17A); and FIG. 17C depicts an image of a stained gel.

FIG. 18 shows the amino acid sequence of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig beforecleavage by furin.

FIG. 19 shows the amino acid sequence of HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig beforecleavage by furin.

FIG. 20 shows (A) a schematic of a construct encoding the heavy (VH-CH1)chain of CHIKV-Env-Fab; and (B) a schematic of a construct encoding theheavy (VL-CL) chain of CHIKV-Env-Fab.

FIG. 21 shows a schematic of an expression vector containing theconstruct encoding the heavy (VH-CH1) or light (VL-CL) chain ofCHIKV-Env-Fab.

FIG. 22 shows a graph plotting time in hours (hr) vs. OD450 nm.

FIG. 23 shows an image of an immunoblot.

FIG. 24 shows a schematic of the timing of DNA administration andobtaining the pre-bleed and bleeds.

FIG. 25 shows a graph plotting time in days vs. OD450 nm.

FIG. 26 shows a graph plotting days after challenge vs. percentsurvival.

FIG. 27 shows a graph plotting mouse group vs. pg/mL of TNF-α.

FIG. 28 shows a graph plotting mouse group vs. pg/mL of IL-6.

FIG. 29 shows a schematic illustrating a construct encoding a VH-CH1 andunder the control of a promoter.

FIG. 30 shows a schematic illustrating a construct encoding a VL-CL andunder the control of a promoter.

FIG. 31 shows a schematic illustrating the construct encoding a VH-CH1or VL-CL of the anti-Her-2 Fab cloned into an expression vector.

FIG. 32 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the VH-CH1 of theanti-Her-2 Fab.

FIG. 33 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 32 (i.e., the amino acid sequence of the VH-CH1 of theanti-Her-2 Fab).

FIG. 34 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the VL-CL of theanti-Her-2 Fab.

FIG. 35 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 34 (i.e., the amino acid sequence of the VL-CL of theanti-Her-2 Fab).

FIG. 36 shows a graph plotting type of transfected cell vs. IgGconcentration (μg/mL).

FIG. 37 shows a schematic illustrating a construct encoding the variableheavy region (VH), variable heavy constant region 1 (CH1), hinge region,variable heavy constant region 2 (CH2), variable heavy constant 3 (CH3)of an immunoglobulin G (IgG) heavy chain and encoding the variable lightregion (VL) and variable light constant region (CL) of an IgG lightchain. The heavy and light chains of the IgG are separated by a proteasecleavage site and each is preceded by a signal peptide (encoded byleader sequence).

FIG. 38 shows a nucleic acid sequence encoding the anti-Dengue virus(DENV) human IgG.

FIG. 39 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 39 (i.e., the amino acid sequence of the anti-DENVhuman IgG). In this amino acid sequence, protease cleavage has not yetoccurred to separate the heavy and light chains into two separatepolypeptides.

FIG. 40 shows a graph plotting mouse group vs. OD 450 nm.

FIG. 41 shows a graph plotting days post-injection vs. human IgGconcentration (ng/mL).

FIG. 42 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 1 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:6). This amino acid sequence is theamino acid sequence of the IgG heavy chain described in Example 1 below.

FIG. 43 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 2 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:7). This amino acid sequence is theamino acid sequence of the IgG light chain described in Example 1 below.

FIG. 44 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 9 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:3). This amino acid sequence is theamino acid sequence of the heavy chain (VH-CH1) of HIV-1 Env-Fabdescribed in Examples 2-7.

FIG. 45 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 10 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:4). This amino acid sequence is theamino acid sequence of the light chain (VL-CL) of HIV-1 Env-Fabdescribed in Examples 2-7.

FIG. 46 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the HIV-1 PG9 singlechain Fab (scFab) described in Example 11 below.

FIG. 47 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 46 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:50). This amino acid sequence isthe amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 PG9 scFab described in Example 11below.

FIG. 48 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the HIV-1 4E10 singlechain Fab (scFab) described in Example 13 below.

FIG. 49 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 48 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:52). This amino acid sequence isthe amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 4E10 scFab described in Example 13below.

FIG. 50 shows a schematic illustrating a construct encoding the variableheavy region (VH), variable heavy constant region 1 (CH1), hinge region,variable heavy constant region 2 (CH2), variable heavy constant 3 (CH3)of an immunoglobulin G (IgG) heavy chain. The nucleic acid sequenceencoding the IgG heavy chain is preceded by a leader sequence.

FIG. 51 shows a schematic illustrating a construct encoding the variablelight region (VL) and variable light constant region (CL) of an IgGlight chain. The nucleic acid sequence encoding the IgG light chain ispreceded by a leader sequence.

FIG. 52 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the HIV-1 VRC01 IgG1heavy chain described in Example 9 below.

FIG. 53 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 52 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:54). This amino acid sequence isthe amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 VRC01 IgG1 heavy chain described inExample 9 below.

FIG. 54 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the HIV-1 VRC01 IgGlight chain described in Example 9 below.

FIG. 55 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 54 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:56). This amino acid sequence isthe amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 VRC01 IgG light chain describedbelow in Example 9.

FIG. 56 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavy chain(VH-CH1) of the CHIKV-Env-Fab described below in Example 14.

FIG. 57 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 56 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:58). This amino acid sequence isthe amino acid sequence of the heavy chain (VH-CH1) of the CHIKV-Env-Fabdescribed in Example 14 below.

FIG. 58 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chain (VL-CL)of the CHIKV-Env-Fab described below in Example 14.

FIG. 59 shows the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of FIG. 58 (i.e., SEQ ID NO:60). This amino acid sequence isthe amino acid sequence of the light chain (VL-CL) of the CHIKV-Env-Fabdescribed in Example 14 below.

FIG. 60 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding HIV-1 Env-4E10 Igdescribed in Example 12 below

FIG. 61 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding HIV-1 Env-PG9 Igdescribed in Example 10 below.

FIG. 62 shows the nucleic acid sequence encoding VRC01 IgG (SEQ IDNO:64)

FIG. 63, comprising FIG. 63A through FIG. 63F, shows the schematicdesign of antibody expressing plasmids and confirmation of expressionand binding kinetics of antibodies following a single EP mediatedinjection of the CHIKV-Fab expression plasmid. FIG. 63A depicts thevariable light and heavy (VL and VH) IgG fragment genes of a selectedanti-CHIKV human monoclonal were cloned separately for CHIKV-Fab andCHIKV-IgG into optimized DNA plasmid vectors. FIG. 63B depicts DNAplasmids encoding the anti-CHIKV VL and VH-Fab genes or CHIKV-IgG weretransfected together into 293T cells in order to determine theirrespective in vitro expression by ELISA. Cells transfected with an emptycontrol pVax1 plasmid served as a negative control. FIG. 63C depicts invivo expression of anti-CHIKV-IgG antibodies following EP mediateddelivery. Mice (B6.Cg-Foxn1^(nu)/J) were administrated singleintramuscular injections of CHIKV-IgG plasmids (total 100 μg) followedby EP (n=5 mice per group). Injection of an empty pVax1 vector was useda negative control. FIG. 63D depicts specific binding to the CHIKV-Envantigen was measured through ELISA assays with collected sera fromCHIKV-IgG and recombinant CHIKV-Env immunized mice and presented as OD450 nm values for individual mice at different time points. FIG. 63Edepicts sera levels of human IgG concentration were measured at varioustime points in mice injected intramuscularly with CHIKV-IgG as describedin Example 17. FIG. 63F depicts evaluation of antibody binding affinityand specificity. Binding affinity functionality of sera from CHIKV-IgGinjected mice (Day 14) to target proteins was tested by Western blotusing the cell lysates from the CHIKV-infected cells as described in theExamples, below.

FIG. 64, comprising FIG. 64A through FIG. 64C, shows the expression andbinding kinetics of IgG following a single electroporation mediatedinjection of the CHIKV-IgG expression plasmid. FIG. 64A depicts serafrom CHIKV-Fab administered mice were specific for the CHIKV-Envantigen. ELISA plates were coated with recombinant CHIKV-Env or HIV-1Env (subtype B; MN) protein and sera from mice injected with CHIKV-IgGor pVax1 were obtained as indicated after the first injection. Specificbinding to the CHIKV-Env antigen was measured through ELISA assays withcollected sera and presented as OD 450 nm values for individual mice atdifferent time points. FIG. 64B depicts immunofluorescence assay (IFA)results demonstrated that CHIKV-Fab generated from CHIKV-Fabadministered mice was capable of binding to the CHIKV-Env glycoprotein.CHIKV infected Vero cells were fixed at 24 hrs post infection andfollowed by an immunofluorescence assay to detect CHIKV-Env antigenexpression. Cell nuclei were stained with DAPI. Moderate amounts ofCHIKV-Env protein expression were observed in Vero cells with CHIKV-Fabantibody. pVax1 immunized mice sera was used as a negative control. FIG.64C depicts FACS analysis of binding of sera from plasmid injected miceto CHIKV-infected cells. The x-axis indicated GFP staining using thelentiviral GFP pseudovirus complemented with CHIKV-Env. The y-axisdemonstrated staining of the tested human IgG produced in mice.Double-positive cells were an indication/measurement of sera binding tothe CHIKV infected cells.

FIG. 65 shows that sera from mice injected with CHIKV-IgG plus EPexhibited neutralizing activity against multiple CHIKV strains. FIG. 65shows the neutralizing activity of sera from mice administered CHIKV-IgGwith EP that was measured against six different CHIKV viral strains:Ross, LR2006-OPY1, IND-63-WB1, PC-08, B448-China and Bianchi.Neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers were plotted as the highest dilutionof serum that resulted in at least 50% inhibition of CPE in Vero cells.Similar results were observed in 2 independent experiments with at least10 mice per group for each experiment. IC-50 values were performed withPrism GraphPad software.

FIG. 66, comprising FIG. 66A through FIG. 66E, shows the durability ofanti-CHIKV-Env IgG and serum and mucosal IgG responses followingimmunization with CHIKV-Fab as well as IgG expression and challengestudies. FIG. 66A depicts schematic representation of IgG plasmidimmunizations and CHIKV-challenge. FIG. 66B and FIG. 66C depicts BALB/cmice were injected with pVax1, CHIKV-IgG or CHIKV-Fab on day 0 andchallenged on day 2 (FIG. 66B) or day 30 (FIG. 66C) with CHIKV-Del-03(JN578247) CHIKV strain (1×10⁷ PFU in a total volume of 25 ul). Micewere monitored daily and survival rates were recorded for 20 days afterthe viral challenge. FIG. 66D and FIG. 66E depicts protection of micefrom a different route of CHIKV viral infection. Two groups of mice wereimmunized with 100 ug of CHIKV-IgG by intramuscular (IM) injection andwere challenged on day 2 with subcutaneous (s.c) (FIG. 66D) and anothergroup of mice were challenged by intranasal (i.n). FIG. 66E depictsinoculation with CHIKV. Mice were monitored daily and survival rateswere recorded for 20 days after the viral challenge. ↑ indicated DNAadministration;

indicated virus challenge. Each group consisted of 10 mice and theresults were representative of 2 independent experiments.

FIG. 67, comprising FIG. 67A through FIG. 67E, shows protection bothimmediate and persistent via CHIKV-challenge studies. FIG. 67A depictsschematic representation of CHIKV-IgG vaccination and challenge studies.Group I challenge: BALB/c mice were injected with CHIKV-IgG, CHIKV-Env,or pVax1 on day 0 and challenged on day 2 with CHIKV-Del-03 (JN578247)viral strain (1×10⁷ PFU in a total volume of 25 ul). Group II challenge:BALB/c mice were given either single CHIKV-IgG immunization on day 0 ormultiple CHIKV-Env immunizations on indicated days, and then challengedon day 35 under the same conditions as the Group I challenge. ↑indicated DNA administration;

indicated virus challenge. For each study, mice were monitored for 20days, and survival rates were recorded. FIG. 67B depicts survival curveof mice from Group I challenge study. Note that 100% survival wasrecorded in CHIKV-IgG-immunized mice. FIG. 67C depicts survival curve ofmice from Group II challenge study. FIG. 67D depicts concentrations ofanti-CHIKV human IgG levels were measured at indicated time pointsfollowing immunization with CHIKV-IgG plus EP. FIG. 67E depictsinduction of persistent and systemic anti-CHIKV-Env antibodies followingCHIKV-IgG and CHIKV-Env immunization in mice.

FIG. 68, comprising FIG. 68A through FIG. 68D, shows the ex vivocytokine production in response to infection with CHIKV. FIG. 68Adepicts viral titers in CHIKV-IgG and CHIKV-Env administered mice fromGroup II challenge study on day 45 (i.e. 10 days post-challenge). Eachdata point represented the average viral titers from 10 mice. A group ofpVax1 immunized mice served as a control. Viral loads were significantlyreduced in both CHIKV-IgG (p=0.0244) and CHIKV-Env (p=0.0221) comparedto pVax1 mice. FIG. 68B and FIG. 68C depicts characterization of serumpro-inflammatory cytokines levels (TNF-α and IL-6) from CHIKV infectedmice. Cytokine levels were measured in mice at day 45 (15 dayspost-challenge) by specific ELISA assays. Mice injected with CHIKV-IgGor CHIKV-Env had similar and significantly lower sera levels of TNF-αand IL-6 than the control group (p<0.0001). Data represented the averageof 3 wells per mouse (n=10 per group). FIG. 68D depicts T-cell responsesin splenocytes of mice immunized with CHIKV-IgG or CHIKV-Envimmunization of mice, and then stimulated with CHIKV-specific peptides.The data shown were representative of at least 2 separate experiments.

FIG. 69, comprising FIG. 69A through FIG. 69D, shows the in vitroexpression of human anti-DENV neutralizing mAbs delivered by a DNAconstruct encoding the antibody.

FIG. 69A depicts schematic illustration of the DNA plasmid used fordelivery; antibody heavy and light chain sequences are separated by acombination of furin and 2A cleavage sites. FIG. 69B depicts ELISAquantification analysis of human IgG in supernatants of pDVSF-3 WT- orLALA-transfected 293T cells. FIG. 69C depicts western-blot analysis ofpDVSF-3 WT-transfected 293T supernatants containing DVSF-3 WT.Antibodies were purified by Protein A spin columns and separated bySDS-PAGE under reducing (left) and non-reducing (right) conditions. FIG.69D depicts Vero cells were either uninfected (Mock) or infected byDENV1, 2, 3, or 4, then fixed, permeabilized, and stained withsupernatants of pDVSF-3 WT- or LALA-transfected 293T cells.

FIG. 70, comprising FIG. 70A through FIG. 70D, shows the results inlong-term expression of neutralizing DENV antibodies in mouse serum.FIG. 70A depicts total serum-detectable levels of human IgG weremeasured by ELISA after a single intramuscular injection of DNA plasmidencoding the anti-DENV human IgG antibody DVSF-1 into Foxn1/NuJimmunodeficient mice. Human IgG levels between weeks 0-4 (left) and atweek 19 (right). Each line (left) or dot (right) represented anindividual mouse (n=5). FIG. 70B depicts total human IgG in serum wasmeasured by ELISA after intramuscular injection of pDVSF-3 WT or pDVSF-3LALA plasmids in 129/Sv mice (n=4-5 per group). FIG. 70C depicts Verocells were either uninfected (Mock) or infected by DENV1, 2, 3, or 4,then fixed, permeabilized, and stained with 129/Sv mouse serum taken atdays 0 or 7 post-DNA injection of either pDVSF-3 WT or pDVSF-3 LALA (n=5per group). FIG. 70D depicts neutralization was assessed by incubatingDENV1, 2, 3, or 4 with serial dilutions of 129/Sv mouse serum taken atday 7 post-DNA injection of either pDVSF-3 WT or pDVSF-3 LALA (n=5 pergroup) before addition to Vero cells. The percentage of infected cellsis shown.

FIG. 71, comprising FIG. 71A through FIG. 71B, shows that delivery ofthe DNA construct encoding the antibody protected against virus-only andantibody-enhanced disease. FIG. 71A depicts virus-only challenge: AG129mice received an intramuscular injection of either pDVSF-3 WT, pDVSF-3LALA, or pVax empty vector five days prior to challenge with a sublethaldose of DENV2 S221 (n=5-6 per group; p≤0.0084 for comparison betweenpDVSF-3 LALA and pDVSF-3 WT). FIG. 71B depicts antibody-dependentenhancement challenge: AG129 mice received an intramuscular injection ofeither pDVSF-3 WT, pDVSF-3 LALA, or pVax empty vector five days prior toadministration of an enhancing dose of the non-neutralizing anti-DENVmAb 2H2. Thirty minutes later, mice were challenged with a sublethaldose of DENV2 S221 (n=5-6 per group; p≤0.0072 for comparison betweenpDVSF-3 LALA and pDVSF-3 WT). A Kaplan-Meier survival curve is shown in(FIG. 71A and FIG. 71B).

FIG. 72, comprising FIG. 72A and FIG. 72B, shows the in vitro functionalanalysis of pDVSF-3 WT and LALA-encoded antibodies. FIG. 72A depictsELISA binding analysis of human IgG in supernatants of pDVSF-3 WT- orLALA-transfected 293T cells against purified recombinant DENV Eproteins. FIG. 72B depicts antibody-dependent enhancement was assessedby incubating DENV1, 2, 3, or 4 with serial dilutions of supernatants ofpDVSF-3 WT- or LALA-transfected 293T cells before addition to K562cells. The percentage of infected cells is shown.

FIG. 73 shows the pre-challenge levels of anti-DENV human IgG levels inAG129 mice after delivery of the DNA construct encoding the antibody.Total human IgG of DVSF-3 WT or DVSF-3 LALA in serum was measured byELISA 4 days after DNA intramuscular injection (one day before DENV2challenge) and EP of respective plasmids in AG129 mice (n=5-6 per group;p≤0.0005 for comparison between pDVSF-3 WT and pVax; p≤0.0001 forcomparison between pDVSF-3 LALA and pVax).

FIG. 74 shows the delivery of multiple DENV antibody-encoding plasmidsin mice produced increased DENV1-4 antisera. Total human IgG of DVSF-3WT, DVSF-1 WT, or DVSF-3 WT and DVSF-1 WT in serum was measured by ELISA7 days after DNA intramuscular injection and EP of respective plasmidsin 129/Sv mice (n=5 per group; p≤0.0088 for comparison between pDVSF-1WT and pDVSF-1+3; p≤0.0240 for comparison between pDVSF-3 WT andpDVSF-1+3).

FIG. 75 shows in the top panel that DVSF-3 WT bound to human FcyR1a,whereas DVSF-3 LALA did not bind FcyR1a. The bottom 4 panels show theresults of the antibody-dependent enhancement assay: incubation ofDENV-1, -2, -3, or -4 with DVSF-3 LALA did not lead to human monocyte(K562 cell line) infection, whereas DVSF-3 WT did enhance infection forDENV-1, -2, and -3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to compositions comprising a recombinantnucleic acid sequence encoding an antibody, a fragment thereof, avariant thereof, or a combination thereof. The composition can beadministered to a subject in need thereof to facilitate in vivoexpression and formation of a synthetic antibody.

In particular, the heavy chain and light chain polypeptides expressedfrom the recombinant nucleic acid sequences can assemble into thesynthetic antibody. The heavy chain polypeptide and the light chainpolypeptide can interact with one another such that assembly results inthe synthetic antibody being capable of binding the antigen, being moreimmunogenic as compared to an antibody not assembled as describedherein, and being capable of eliciting or inducing an immune responseagainst the antigen.

Additionally, these synthetic antibodies are generated more rapidly inthe subject than antibodies that are produced in response to antigeninduced immune response. The synthetic antibodies are able toeffectively bind and neutralize a range of antigens. The syntheticantibodies are also able to effectively protect against and/or promotesurvival of disease.

1. DEFINITIONS

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art. In case of conflict, the present document, includingdefinitions, will control. Preferred methods and materials are describedbelow, although methods and materials similar or equivalent to thosedescribed herein can be used in practice or testing of the presentinvention. All publications, patent applications, patents and otherreferences mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in theirentirety. The materials, methods, and examples disclosed herein areillustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

The terms “comprise(s),” “include(s),” “having,” “has,” “can,”“contain(s),” and variants thereof, as used herein, are intended to beopen-ended transitional phrases, terms, or words that do not precludethe possibility of additional acts or structures. The singular forms“a,” “and” and “the” include plural references unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. The present disclosure also contemplatesother embodiments “comprising,” “consisting of” and “consistingessentially of,” the embodiments or elements presented herein, whetherexplicitly set forth or not.

“Antibody” may mean an antibody of classes IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD or IgE, orfragments, fragments or derivatives thereof, including Fab, F(ab′)2, Fd,and single chain antibodies, and derivatives thereof. The antibody maybe an antibody isolated from the serum sample of mammal, a polyclonalantibody, affinity purified antibody, or mixtures thereof which exhibitssufficient binding specificity to a desired epitope or a sequencederived therefrom. The antibody may be a synthetic antibody as describedherein.

“Antibody fragment” or “fragment of an antibody” as used interchangeablyherein refers to a portion of an intact antibody comprising theantigen-binding site or variable region. The portion does not includethe constant heavy chain domains (i.e. CH2, CH3, or CH4, depending onthe antibody isotype) of the Fc region of the intact antibody. Examplesof antibody fragments include, but are not limited to, Fab fragments,Fab′ fragments, Fab′-SH fragments, F(ab′)2 fragments, Fd fragments, Fvfragments, diabodies, single-chain Fv (scFv) molecules, single-chainpolypeptides containing only one light chain variable domain,single-chain polypeptides containing the three CDRs of the light-chainvariable domain, single-chain polypeptides containing only one heavychain variable region, and single-chain polypeptides containing thethree CDRs of the heavy chain variable region.

“Antigen” refers to proteins that have the ability to generate an immuneresponse in a host. An antigen may be recognized and bound by anantibody. An antigen may originate from within the body or from theexternal environment.

“Coding sequence” or “encoding nucleic acid” as used herein may meanrefers to the nucleic acid (RNA or DNA molecule) that comprise anucleotide sequence which encodes an antibody as set forth herein. Thecoding sequence may further include initiation and termination signalsoperably linked to regulatory elements including a promoter andpolyadenylation signal capable of directing expression in the cells ofan individual or mammal to whom the nucleic acid is administered. Thecoding sequence may further include sequences that encode signalpeptides.

“Complement” or “complementary” as used herein may mean a nucleic acidmay mean Watson-Crick (e.g., A-T/U and C-G) or Hoogsteen base pairingbetween nucleotides or nucleotide analogs of nucleic acid molecules.

“Constant current” as used herein to define a current that is receivedor experienced by a tissue, or cells defining said tissue, over theduration of an electrical pulse delivered to same tissue. The electricalpulse is delivered from the electroporation devices described herein.This current remains at a constant amperage in said tissue over the lifeof an electrical pulse because the electroporation device providedherein has a feedback element, preferably having instantaneous feedback.The feedback element can measure the resistance of the tissue (or cells)throughout the duration of the pulse and cause the electroporationdevice to alter its electrical energy output (e.g., increase voltage) socurrent in same tissue remains constant throughout the electrical pulse(on the order of microseconds), and from pulse to pulse. In someembodiments, the feedback element comprises a controller.

“Current feedback” or “feedback” as used herein may be usedinterchangeably and may mean the active response of the providedelectroporation devices, which comprises measuring the current in tissuebetween electrodes and altering the energy output delivered by the EPdevice accordingly in order to maintain the current at a constant level.This constant level is preset by a user prior to initiation of a pulsesequence or electrical treatment. The feedback may be accomplished bythe electroporation component, e.g., controller, of the electroporationdevice, as the electrical circuit therein is able to continuouslymonitor the current in tissue between electrodes and compare thatmonitored current (or current within tissue) to a preset current andcontinuously make energy-output adjustments to maintain the monitoredcurrent at preset levels. The feedback loop may be instantaneous as itis an analog closed-loop feedback.

“Decentralized current” as used herein may mean the pattern ofelectrical currents delivered from the various needle electrode arraysof the electroporation devices described herein, wherein the patternsminimize, or preferably eliminate, the occurrence of electroporationrelated heat stress on any area of tissue being electroporated.

“Electroporation,” “electro-permeabilization,” or “electro-kineticenhancement” (“EP”) as used interchangeably herein may refer to the useof a transmembrane electric field pulse to induce microscopic pathways(pores) in a bio-membrane; their presence allows biomolecules such asplasmids, oligonucleotides, siRNA, drugs, ions, and water to pass fromone side of the cellular membrane to the other.

“Endogenous antibody” as used herein may refer to an antibody that isgenerated in a subject that is administered an effective dose of anantigen for induction of a humoral immune response.

“Feedback mechanism” as used herein may refer to a process performed byeither software or hardware (or firmware), which process receives andcompares the impedance of the desired tissue (before, during, and/orafter the delivery of pulse of energy) with a present value, preferablycurrent, and adjusts the pulse of energy delivered to achieve the presetvalue. A feedback mechanism may be performed by an analog closed loopcircuit.

“Fragment” may mean a polypeptide fragment of an antibody that isfunction, i.e., can bind to desired target and have the same intendedeffect as a full length antibody. A fragment of an antibody may be 100%identical to the full length except missing at least one amino acid fromthe N and/or C terminal, in each case with or without signal peptidesand/or a methionine at position 1. Fragments may comprise 20% or more,25% or more, 30% or more, 35% or more, 40% or more, 45% or more, 50% ormore, 55% or more, 60% or more, 65% or more, 70% or more, 75% or more,80% or more, 85% or more, 90% or more, 91% or more, 92% or more, 93% ormore, 94% or more, 95% or more, 96% or more, 97% or more, 98% or more,99% or more percent of the length of the particular full lengthantibody, excluding any heterologous signal peptide added. The fragmentmay comprise a fragment of a polypeptide that is 95% or more, 96% ormore, 97% or more, 98% or more or 99% or more identical to the antibodyand additionally comprise an N terminal methionine or heterologoussignal peptide which is not included when calculating percent identity.Fragments may further comprise an N terminal methionine and/or a signalpeptide such as an immunoglobulin signal peptide, for example an IgE orIgG signal peptide. The N terminal methionine and/or signal peptide maybe linked to a fragment of an antibody.

A fragment of a nucleic acid sequence that encodes an antibody may be100% identical to the full length except missing at least one nucleotidefrom the 5′ and/or 3′ end, in each case with or without sequencesencoding signal peptides and/or a methionine at position 1. Fragmentsmay comprise 20% or more, 25% or more, 30% or more, 35% or more, 40% ormore, 45% or more, 50% or more, 55% or more, 60% or more, 65% or more,70% or more, 75% or more, 80% or more, 85% or more, 90% or more, 91% ormore, 92% or more, 93% or more, 94% or more, 95% or more, 96% or more,97% or more, 98% or more, 99% or more percent of the length of theparticular full length coding sequence, excluding any heterologoussignal peptide added. The fragment may comprise a fragment that encode apolypeptide that is 95% or more, 96% or more, 97% or more, 98% or moreor 99% or more identical to the antibody and additionally optionallycomprise sequence encoding an N terminal methionine or heterologoussignal peptide which is not included when calculating percent identity.Fragments may further comprise coding sequences for an N terminalmethionine and/or a signal peptide such as an immunoglobulin signalpeptide, for example an IgE or IgG signal peptide. The coding sequenceencoding the N terminal methionine and/or signal peptide may be linkedto a fragment of coding sequence.

“Genetic construct” as used herein refers to the DNA or RNA moleculesthat comprise a nucleotide sequence which encodes a protein, such as anantibody. The coding sequence includes initiation and terminationsignals operably linked to regulatory elements including a promoter andpolyadenylation signal capable of directing expression in the cells ofthe individual to whom the nucleic acid molecule is administered. Asused herein, the term “expressible form” refers to gene constructs thatcontain the necessary regulatory elements operable linked to a codingsequence that encodes a protein such that when present in the cell ofthe individual, the coding sequence will be expressed.

“Identical” or “identity” as used herein in the context of two or morenucleic acids or polypeptide sequences, may mean that the sequences havea specified percentage of residues that are the same over a specifiedregion. The percentage may be calculated by optimally aligning the twosequences, comparing the two sequences over the specified region,determining the number of positions at which the identical residueoccurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions,dividing the number of matched positions by the total number ofpositions in the specified region, and multiplying the result by 100 toyield the percentage of sequence identity. In cases where the twosequences are of different lengths or the alignment produces one or morestaggered ends and the specified region of comparison includes only asingle sequence, the residues of single sequence are included in thedenominator but not the numerator of the calculation. When comparing DNAand RNA, thymine (T) and uracil (U) may be considered equivalent.Identity may be performed manually or by using a computer sequencealgorithm such as BLAST or BLAST 2.0.

“Impedance” as used herein may be used when discussing the feedbackmechanism and can be converted to a current value according to Ohm'slaw, thus enabling comparisons with the preset current.

“Immune response” as used herein may mean the activation of a host'simmune system, e.g., that of a mammal, in response to the introductionof one or more nucleic acids and/or peptides. The immune response can bein the form of a cellular or humoral response, or both.

“Nucleic acid” or “oligonucleotide” or “polynucleotide” as used hereinmay mean at least two nucleotides covalently linked together. Thedepiction of a single strand also defines the sequence of thecomplementary strand. Thus, a nucleic acid also encompasses thecomplementary strand of a depicted single strand. Many variants of anucleic acid may be used for the same purpose as a given nucleic acid.Thus, a nucleic acid also encompasses substantially identical nucleicacids and complements thereof. A single strand provides a probe that mayhybridize to a target sequence under stringent hybridization conditions.Thus, a nucleic acid also encompasses a probe that hybridizes understringent hybridization conditions.

Nucleic acids may be single stranded or double stranded, or may containportions of both double stranded and single stranded sequence. Thenucleic acid may be DNA, both genomic and cDNA, RNA, or a hybrid, wherethe nucleic acid may contain combinations of deoxyribo- andribo-nucleotides, and combinations of bases including uracil, adenine,thymine, cytosine, guanine, inosine, xanthine hypoxanthine, isocytosineand isoguanine. Nucleic acids may be obtained by chemical synthesismethods or by recombinant methods.

“Operably linked” as used herein may mean that expression of a gene isunder the control of a promoter with which it is spatially connected. Apromoter may be positioned 5′ (upstream) or 3′ (downstream) of a geneunder its control. The distance between the promoter and a gene may beapproximately the same as the distance between that promoter and thegene it controls in the gene from which the promoter is derived. As isknown in the art, variation in this distance may be accommodated withoutloss of promoter function.

A “peptide,” “protein,” or “polypeptide” as used herein can mean alinked sequence of amino acids and can be natural, synthetic, or amodification or combination of natural and synthetic.

“Promoter” as used herein may mean a synthetic or naturally-derivedmolecule which is capable of conferring, activating or enhancingexpression of a nucleic acid in a cell. A promoter may comprise one ormore specific transcriptional regulatory sequences to further enhanceexpression and/or to alter the spatial expression and/or temporalexpression of same. A promoter may also comprise distal enhancer orrepressor elements, which can be located as much as several thousandbase pairs from the start site of transcription. A promoter may bederived from sources including viral, bacterial, fungal, plants,insects, and animals. A promoter may regulate the expression of a genecomponent constitutively, or differentially with respect to cell, thetissue or organ in which expression occurs or, with respect to thedevelopmental stage at which expression occurs, or in response toexternal stimuli such as physiological stresses, pathogens, metal ions,or inducing agents. Representative examples of promoters include thebacteriophage T7 promoter, bacteriophage T3 promoter, SP6 promoter, lacoperator-promoter, tac promoter, SV40 late promoter, SV40 earlypromoter, RSV-LTR promoter, CMV IE promoter, SV40 early promoter or SV40 late promoter and the CMV IE promoter.

“Signal peptide” and “leader sequence” are used interchangeably hereinand refer to an amino acid sequence that can be linked at the aminoterminus of a protein set forth herein. Signal peptides/leader sequencestypically direct localization of a protein. Signal peptides/leadersequences used herein preferably facilitate secretion of the proteinfrom the cell in which it is produced. Signal peptides/leader sequencesare often cleaved from the remainder of the protein, often referred toas the mature protein, upon secretion from the cell. Signalpeptides/leader sequences are linked at the N terminus of the protein.

“Stringent hybridization conditions” as used herein may mean conditionsunder which a first nucleic acid sequence (e.g., probe) will hybridizeto a second nucleic acid sequence (e.g., target), such as in a complexmixture of nucleic acids. Stringent conditions are sequence dependentand will be different in different circumstances. Stringent conditionsmay be selected to be about 5-10° C. lower than the thermal meltingpoint (T_(m)) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength pH.The T_(m) may be the temperature (under defined ionic strength, pH, andnucleic concentration) at which 50% of the probes complementary to thetarget hybridize to the target sequence at equilibrium (as the targetsequences are present in excess, at T_(m), 50% of the probes areoccupied at equilibrium). Stringent conditions may be those in which thesalt concentration is less than about 1.0 M sodium ion, such as about0.01-1.0 M sodium ion concentration (or other salts) at pH 7.0 to 8.3and the temperature is at least about 30° C. for short probes (e.g.,about 10-50 nucleotides) and at least about 60° C. for long probes(e.g., greater than about 50 nucleotides). Stringent conditions may alsobe achieved with the addition of destabilizing agents such as formamide.For selective or specific hybridization, a positive signal may be atleast 2 to 10 times background hybridization. Exemplary stringenthybridization conditions include the following: 50% formamide, 5×SSC,and 1% SDS, incubating at 42° C., or, 5×SSC, 1% SDS, incubating at 65°C., with wash in 0.2×SSC, and 0.1% SDS at 65° C.

“Subject” and “patient” as used herein interchangeably refers to anyvertebrate, including, but not limited to, a mammal (e.g., cow, pig,camel, llama, horse, goat, rabbit, sheep, hamsters, guinea pig, cat,dog, rat, and mouse, a non-human primate (for example, a monkey, such asa cynomolgous or rhesus monkey, chimpanzee, etc) and a human). In someembodiments, the subject may be a human or a non-human. The subject orpatient may be undergoing other forms of treatment.

“Substantially complementary” as used herein may mean that a firstsequence is at least 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%,86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99%identical to the complement of a second sequence over a region of 8, 9,10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 35,40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100 or more nucleotidesor amino acids, or that the two sequences hybridize under stringenthybridization conditions.

“Substantially identical” as used herein may mean that a first andsecond sequence are at least 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%,84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%,98%, or 99% over a region of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55,60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800,900, 1000, 1100 or more nucleotides or amino acids, or with respect tonucleic acids, if the first sequence is substantially complementary tothe complement of the second sequence.

“Synthetic antibody” as used herein refers to an antibody that isencoded by the recombinant nucleic acid sequence described herein orvariant thereof and is generated in a subject. The synthetic antibodycan be engineered to bind to a desired target molecule, therebyeliciting a biological effect. The desired target molecule can be anantigen, a receptor ligand, a receptor, including a ligand-binding siteon the receptor, a ligand-receptor complex, a marker, including a markerfor cancer, and any other molecule or target that can be bound by anantibody. In some embodiments, the recombinant nucleic acid sequence mayhave the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:3, 4, 6, 7, 40,42, 44, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62 63, 64, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, or77. In some embodiments, the recombinant nucleic acid sequence mayencode the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 5, 41,43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76,or 78.

“Treatment” or “treating,” as used herein can mean protecting of asubject from a disease through means of preventing, suppressing,repressing, or completely eliminating the disease. Preventing thedisease involves administering a vaccine of the present invention to asubject prior to onset of the disease. Suppressing the disease involvesadministering a vaccine of the present invention to a subject afterinduction of the disease but before its clinical appearance. Repressingthe disease involves administering a vaccine of the present invention toa subject after clinical appearance of the disease.

“Variant” used herein with respect to a nucleic acid may mean (i) aportion or fragment of a referenced nucleotide sequence; (ii) thecomplement of a referenced nucleotide sequence or portion thereof; (iii)a nucleic acid that is substantially identical to a referenced nucleicacid or the complement thereof; or (iv) a nucleic acid that hybridizesunder stringent conditions to the referenced nucleic acid, complementthereof, or a sequences substantially identical thereto.

“Variant” with respect to a peptide or polypeptide that differs in aminoacid sequence by the insertion, deletion, or conservative substitutionof amino acids, but retain at least one biological activity. Variant mayalso mean a protein with an amino acid sequence that is substantiallyidentical to a referenced protein with an amino acid sequence thatretains at least one biological activity. A conservative substitution ofan amino acid, i.e., replacing an amino acid with a different amino acidof similar properties (e.g., hydrophilicity, degree and distribution ofcharged regions) is recognized in the art as typically involving a minorchange. These minor changes can be identified, in part, by consideringthe hydropathic index of amino acids, as understood in the art. Kyte etal., J. Mol. Biol. 157:105-132 (1982). The hydropathic index of an aminoacid is based on a consideration of its hydrophobicity and charge. It isknown in the art that amino acids of similar hydropathic indexes can besubstituted and still retain protein function. In one aspect, aminoacids having hydropathic indexes of ±2 are substituted. Thehydrophilicity of amino acids can also be used to reveal substitutionsthat would result in proteins retaining biological function. Aconsideration of the hydrophilicity of amino acids in the context of apeptide permits calculation of the greatest local average hydrophilicityof that peptide, a useful measure that has been reported to correlatewell with antigenicity and immunogenicity. U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,101,incorporated fully herein by reference. Substitution of amino acidshaving similar hydrophilicity values can result in peptides retainingbiological activity, for example immunogenicity, as is understood in theart. Substitutions may be performed with amino acids havinghydrophilicity values within ±2 of each other. Both the hydrophobicityindex and the hydrophilicity value of amino acids are influenced by theparticular side chain of that amino acid. Consistent with thatobservation, amino acid substitutions that are compatible withbiological function are understood to depend on the relative similarityof the amino acids, and particularly the side chains of those aminoacids, as revealed by the hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, charge, size,and other properties.

A variant may be a nucleic acid sequence that is substantially identicalover the full length of the full gene sequence or a fragment thereof.The nucleic acid sequence may be 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%,88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%identical over the full length of the gene sequence or a fragmentthereof. For example, the nucleic acid sequence may be 80%, 81%, 82%,83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%,97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical over the full length of the nucleicacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:3, 4, 6, 7, 40, 42, 44, 50, 52,54, 56, 58, 60, 62 63, 64, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, or 77 or a fragmentthereof. A variant may be an amino acid sequence that is substantiallyidentical over the full length of the amino acid sequence or fragmentthereof. The amino acid sequence may be 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%,86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or100% identical over the full length of the amino acid sequence or afragment thereof. For example, the amino acid sequence may be 80%, 81%,82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%,96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical over the full length of the aminoacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 5, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48,49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, or 78 or a fragmentthereof.

“Vector” as used herein may mean a nucleic acid sequence containing anorigin of replication. A vector may be a plasmid, bacteriophage,bacterial artificial chromosome or yeast artificial chromosome. A vectormay be a DNA or RNA vector. A vector may be either a self-replicatingextrachromosomal vector or a vector which integrates into a host genome.

For the recitation of numeric ranges herein, each intervening numberthere between with the same degree of precision is explicitlycontemplated. For example, for the range of 6-9, the numbers 7 and 8 arecontemplated in addition to 6 and 9, and for the range 6.0-7.0, thenumber 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, and 7.0 areexplicitly contemplated.

2. COMPOSITION

The present invention relates to a composition comprising a recombinantnucleic acid sequence encoding an antibody, a fragment thereof, avariant thereof, or a combination thereof. The composition, whenadministered to a subject in need thereof, can result in the generationof a synthetic antibody in the subject. The synthetic antibody can binda target molecule (e.g., an antigen (which is discussed in more detailbelow), a ligand, including a ligand for a receptor, a receptor,including a ligand-binding site on the receptor, a ligand-receptorcomplex, and a marker, including a cancer marker) present in thesubject. Such binding can neutralize the antigen, block recognition ofthe antigen by another molecule, for example, a protein or nucleic acid,and elicit or induce an immune response to the antigen.

The synthetic antibody can treat, prevent, and/or protect againstdisease in the subject administered the composition. The syntheticantibody by binding the antigen can treat, prevent, and/or protectagainst disease in the subject administered the composition. Thesynthetic antibody can promote survival of the disease in the subjectadministered the composition. The synthetic antibody can provide atleast about 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100%survival of the disease in the subject administered the composition. Inother embodiments, the synthetic antibody can provide at least about65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%,79%, or 80% survival of the disease in the subject administered thecomposition.

The composition can result in the generation of the synthetic antibodyin the subject within at least about 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours,5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours, 9 hours, 10 hours, 11 hours, 12hours, 13 hours, 14 hours, 15 hours, 20 hours, 25 hours, 30 hours, 35hours, 40 hours, 45 hours, 50 hours, or 60 hours of administration ofthe composition to the subject. The composition can result in generationof the synthetic antibody in the subject within at least about 1 day, 2days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 9 days, or 10 daysof administration of the composition to the subject. The composition canresult in generation of the synthetic antibody in the subject withinabout 1 hour to about 6 days, about 1 hour to about 5 days, about 1 hourto about 4 days, about 1 hour to about 3 days, about 1 hour to about 2days, about 1 hour to about 1 day, about 1 hour to about 72 hours, about1 hour to about 60 hours, about 1 hour to about 48 hours, about 1 hourto about 36 hours, about 1 hour to about 24 hours, about 1 hour to about12 hours, or about 1 hour to about 6 hours of administration of thecomposition to the subject.

The composition, when administered to the subject in need thereof, canresult in the persistent generation of the synthetic antibody in thesubject. The composition can result in the generation of the syntheticantibody in the subject for at least about 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4days, 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 9 days, 10 days, 11 days, 12 days,13 days, 14 days, 15 days, 16 days, 17 days, 18 days, 19 days, 20 days,21 days, 22 days, 23 days, 24 days, 25 days, 26 days, 27 days, 28 days,29 days, 30 days, 31 days, 32 days, 33 days, 34 days, 35 days, 36 days,37 days, 38 days, 39 days, 40 days, 41 days, 42 days, 43 days, 44 days,45 days, 46 days, 47 days, 48 days, 49 days, 50 days, 51 days, 52 days,53 days, 54 days, 55 days, 56 days, 57 days, 58 days, 59 days, or 60days.

The composition, when administered to the subject in need thereof, canresult in the generation of the synthetic antibody in the subject morequickly than the generation of an endogenous antibody in a subject whois administered an antigen to induce a humoral immune response. Thecomposition can result in the generation of the synthetic antibody atleast about 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, 6 days, 7 days, 8days, 9 days, or 10 days before the generation of the endogenousantibody in the subject who was administered an antigen to induce ahumoral immune response.

The composition of the present invention can have features required ofeffective compositions such as being safe so that the composition doesnot cause illness or death; being protective against illness; andproviding ease of administration, few side effects, biological stabilityand low cost per dose.

3. RECOMBINANT NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCE

As described above, the composition can comprise a recombinant nucleicacid sequence. The recombinant nucleic acid sequence can encode theantibody, a fragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combinationthereof. The antibody is described in more detail below.

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence can be a heterologous nucleic acidsequence. The recombinant nucleic acid sequence can include at least oneheterologous nucleic acid sequence or one or more heterologous nucleicacid sequences.

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence can be an optimized nucleic acidsequence. Such optimization can increase or alter the binding, and inparticular, the biological effect (including neutralizing effect) of theantibody. Optimization can also improve transcription and/ortranslation. Optimization can include one or more of the following: lowGC content leader sequence to increase transcription; mRNA stability andcodon optimization; addition of a kozak sequence (e.g., GCC ACC) forincreased translation; addition of an immunoglobulin (Ig) leadersequence encoding a signal peptide; and eliminating to the extentpossible cis-acting sequence motifs (i.e., internal TATA boxes).

a. Recombinant Nucleic Acid Sequence Construct

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence can include one or morerecombinant nucleic acid sequence constructs. The recombinant nucleicacid sequence construct can include one or more components, which aredescribed in more detail below.

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include aheterologous nucleic acid sequence that encodes a heavy chainpolypeptide, a fragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combinationthereof. The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include aheterologous nucleic acid sequence that encodes a light chainpolypeptide, a fragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combinationthereof. The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can alsoinclude a heterologous nucleic acid sequence that encodes a protease orpeptidase cleavage site. The recombinant nucleic acid sequence constructcan include one or more leader sequences, in which each leader sequenceencodes a signal peptide. The recombinant nucleic acid sequenceconstruct can include one or more promoters, one or more introns, one ormore transcription termination regions, one or more initiation codons,one or more termination or stop codons, and/or one or morepolyadenylation signals. The recombinant nucleic acid sequence constructcan also include one or more linker or tag sequences. The tag sequencecan encode a hemagglutinin (HA) tag.

(1) Heavy Chain Polypeptide

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include theheterologous nucleic acid encoding the heavy chain polypeptide, afragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combination thereof. The heavychain polypeptide can include a variable heavy chain (VH) region and/orat least one constant heavy chain (CH) region. The at least one constantheavy chain region can include a constant heavy chain region 1 (CH1), aconstant heavy chain region 2 (CH2), and a constant heavy chain region 3(CH3), and/or a hinge region.

In some embodiments, the heavy chain polypeptide can include a VH regionand a CH1 region. In other embodiments, the heavy chain polypeptide caninclude a VH region, a CH1 region, a hinge region, a CH2 region, and aCH3 region.

The heavy chain polypeptide can include a complementarity determiningregion (“CDR”) set. The CDR set can contain three hypervariable regionsof the VH region. Proceeding from N-terminus of the heavy chainpolypeptide, these CDRs are denoted “CDR1,” “CDR2,” and “CDR3,”respectively. CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the heavy chain polypeptide cancontribute to binding or recognition of the antigen.

(2) Light Chain Polypeptide

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include theheterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chain polypeptide,a fragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combination thereof. Thelight chain polypeptide can include a variable light chain (VL) regionand/or a constant light chain (CL) region.

The light chain polypeptide can include a complementarity determiningregion (“CDR”) set. The CDR set can contain three hypervariable regionsof the VL region. Proceeding from N-terminus of the light chainpolypeptide, these CDRs are denoted “CDR1,” “CDR2,” and “CDR3,”respectively. CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the light chain polypeptide cancontribute to binding or recognition of the antigen.

(3) Protease Cleavage Site

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include theheterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the protease cleavage site.The protease cleavage site can be recognized by a protease or peptidase.The protease can be an endopeptidase or endoprotease, for example, butnot limited to, furin, elastase, HtrA, calpain, trypsin, chymotrypsin,trypsin, and pepsin. The protease can be furin. In other embodiments,the protease can be a serine protease, a threonine protease, cysteineprotease, aspartate protease, metalloprotease, glutamic acid protease,or any protease that cleaves an internal peptide bond (i.e., does notcleave the N-terminal or C-terminal peptide bond).

The protease cleavage site can include one or more amino acid sequencesthat promote or increase the efficiency of cleavage. The one or moreamino acid sequences can promote or increase the efficiency of formingor generating discrete polypeptides. The one or more amino acidssequences can include a 2A peptide sequence. The 2A peptide sequence isa self-processing peptide derived from foot and mouth disease virus(FMDV).

In some embodiments, the protease cleavage site can include acombination (e.g., fusion) of the furin cleavage site followed by the 2Apeptide sequence. An example of such a combination can be included inarrangement 2, which is described in more detail below, and can be seen,for example, in FIG. 69A. As discussed below in more detail, thiscombination of the furin cleavage site followed by the 2A peptidesequence can be positioned between the heterologous nucleic acidsequence encoding the heavy chain polypeptide and the heterologousnucleic acid sequence encoding the light chain polypeptide. Accordingly,this combination allows for separation of the heavy chain polypeptideand the light chain polypeptide into distinct polypeptides uponexpression and may facilitate equimolar expression of the heavy andlight chain polypeptides.

(4) Linker Sequence

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or morelinker sequences. The linker sequence can spatially separate or link theone or more components described herein. In other embodiments, thelinker sequence can encode an amino acid sequence that spatiallyseparates or links two or more polypeptides.

(5) Promoter

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or morepromoters. The one or more promoters may be any promoter that is capableof driving gene expression and regulating gene expression. Such apromoter is a cis-acting sequence element required for transcription viaa DNA dependent RNA polymerase. Selection of the promoter used to directgene expression depends on the particular application. The promoter maybe positioned about the same distance from the transcription start inthe recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct as it is from thetranscription start site in its natural setting. However, variation inthis distance may be accommodated without loss of promoter function.

The promoter may be operably linked to the heterologous nucleic acidsequence encoding the heavy chain polypeptide and/or light chainpolypeptide. The promoter may be a promoter shown effective forexpression in eukaryotic cells. The promoter operably linked to thecoding sequence may be a CMV promoter, a promoter from simian virus 40(SV40), such as SV40 early promoter and SV40 later promoter, a mousemammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter, a human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) promoter such as the bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) longterminal repeat (LTR) promoter, a Moloney virus promoter, an avianleukosis virus (ALV) promoter, a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter such asthe CMV immediate early promoter, Epstein Barr virus (EBV) promoter, ora Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) promoter. The promoter may also be a promoterfrom a human gene such as human actin, human myosin, human hemoglobin,human muscle creatine, human polyhedrin, or human metallothionein.

The promoter can be a constitutive promoter or an inducible promoter,which initiates transcription only when the host cell is exposed to someparticular external stimulus. In the case of a multicellular organism,the promoter can also be specific to a particular tissue or organ orstage of development. The promoter may also be a tissue specificpromoter, such as a muscle or skin specific promoter, natural orsynthetic. Examples of such promoters are described in US patentapplication publication no. US20040175727, the contents of which areincorporated herein in its entirety.

The promoter can be associated with an enhancer. The enhancer can belocated upstream of the coding sequence. The enhancer may be humanactin, human myosin, human hemoglobin, human muscle creatine or a viralenhancer such as one from CMV, FMDV, RSV or EBV. Polynucleotide functionenhances are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,593,972, 5,962,428, andWO94/016737, the contents of each are fully incorporated by reference.

(6) Intron

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or moreintrons. Each intron can include functional splice donor and acceptorsites. The intron can include an enhancer of splicing. The intron caninclude one or more signals required for efficient splicing.

(7) Transcription Termination Region

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or moretranscription termination regions. The transcription termination regioncan be downstream of the coding sequence to provide for efficienttermination. The transcription termination region can be obtained fromthe same gene as the promoter described above or can be obtained fromone or more different genes.

(8) Initiation Codon

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or moreinitiation codons. The initiation codon can be located upstream of thecoding sequence. The initiation codon can be in frame with the codingsequence. The initiation codon can be associated with one or moresignals required for efficient translation initiation, for example, butnot limited to, a ribosome binding site.

(9) Termination Codon

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or moretermination or stop codons. The termination codon can be downstream ofthe coding sequence. The termination codon can be in frame with thecoding sequence. The termination codon can be associated with one ormore signals required for efficient translation termination.

(10) Polyadenylation Signal

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or morepolyadenylation signals. The polyadenylation signal can include one ormore signals required for efficient polyadenylation of the transcript.The polyadenylation signal can be positioned downstream of the codingsequence. The polyadenylation signal may be a SV40 polyadenylationsignal, LTR polyadenylation signal, bovine growth hormone (bGH)polyadenylation signal, human growth hormone (hGH) polyadenylationsignal, or human β-globin polyadenylation signal. The SV40polyadenylation signal may be a polyadenylation signal from a pCEP4plasmid (Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.).

(11) Leader Sequence

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or moreleader sequences. The leader sequence can encode a signal peptide. Thesignal peptide can be an immunoglobulin (Ig) signal peptide, forexample, but not limited to, an IgG signal peptide and a IgE signalpeptide.

b. Arrangement of the Recombinant Nucleic Acid Sequence Construct

As described above, the recombinant nucleic acid sequence can includeone or more recombinant nucleic acid sequence constructs, in which eachrecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one or morecomponents. The one or more components are described in detail above.The one or more components, when included in the recombinant nucleicacid sequence construct, can be arranged in any order relative to oneanother. In some embodiments, the one or more components can be arrangedin the recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct as described below.

(1) Arrangement 1

In one arrangement, a first recombinant nucleic acid sequence constructcan include the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavychain polypeptide and a second recombinant nucleic acid sequenceconstruct can include the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encodingthe light chain polypeptide.

The first recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can be placed in avector. The second recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can beplaced in a second or separate vector. Placement of the recombinantnucleic acid sequence construct into the vector is described in moredetail below.

The first recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can also includethe promoter, intron, transcription termination region, initiationcodon, termination codon, and/or polyadenylation signal. The firstrecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can further include theleader sequence, in which the leader sequence is located upstream (or5′) of the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavy chainpolypeptide. Accordingly, the signal peptide encoded by the leadersequence can be linked by a peptide bond to the heavy chain polypeptide.

The second recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can also includethe promoter, initiation codon, termination codon, and polyadenylationsignal. The second recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct canfurther include the leader sequence, in which the leader sequence islocated upstream (or 5′) of the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the light chain polypeptide. Accordingly, the signal peptideencoded by the leader sequence can be linked by a peptide bond to thelight chain polypeptide.

Accordingly, one example of arrangement 1 can include the first vector(and thus first recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct) encodingthe heavy chain polypeptide that includes VH and CH1, and the secondvector (and thus second recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct)encoding the light chain polypeptide that includes VL and CL. A secondexample of arrangement 1 can include the first vector (and thus firstrecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct) encoding the heavy chainpolypeptide that includes VH, CH1, hinge region, CH2, and CH3, and thesecond vector (and thus second recombinant nucleic acid sequenceconstruct) encoding the light chain polypeptide that includes VL and CL.

(2) Arrangement 2

In a second arrangement, the recombinant nucleic acid sequence constructcan include the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavychain polypeptide and the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encodingthe light chain polypeptide. The heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the heavy chain polypeptide can be positioned upstream (or 5′)of the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chainpolypeptide. Alternatively, the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the light chain polypeptide can be positioned upstream (or 5′)of the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavy chainpolypeptide.

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can be placed in thevector as described in more detail below.

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include theheterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the protease cleavage siteand/or the linker sequence. As discussed above in more detail, in someembodiments, the protease cleavage site can include a combination (e.g.,fusion) of the furin cleavage site followed by the 2A peptide sequence,for example, as shown in FIG. 69A.

If included in the recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct, theheterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the protease cleavage sitecan be positioned between the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the heavy chain polypeptide and the heterologous nucleic acidsequence encoding the light chain polypeptide. Accordingly, the proteasecleavage site allows for separation of the heavy chain polypeptide andthe light chain polypeptide into distinct polypeptides upon expressionand may facilitate equimolar expression of the heavy and light chainpolypeptides.

In other embodiments, if the linker sequence is included in therecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct, then the linker sequencecan be positioned between the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the heavy chain polypeptide and the heterologous nucleic acidsequence encoding the light chain polypeptide.

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can also include thepromoter, intron, transcription termination region, initiation codon,termination codon, and/or polyadenylation signal. The recombinantnucleic acid sequence construct can include one or more promoters. Therecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include two promoterssuch that one promoter can be associated with the heterologous nucleicacid sequence encoding the heavy chain polypeptide and the secondpromoter can be associated with the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the light chain polypeptide. In still other embodiments, therecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can include one promoterthat is associated with the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encodingthe heavy chain polypeptide and the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the light chain polypeptide.

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct can further include twoleader sequences, in which a first leader sequence is located upstream(or 5′) of the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavychain polypeptide and a second leader sequence is located upstream (or5′) of the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chainpolypeptide. Accordingly, a first signal peptide encoded by the firstleader sequence can be linked by a peptide bond to the heavy chainpolypeptide and a second signal peptide encoded by the second leadersequence can be linked by a peptide bond to the light chain polypeptide.

Accordingly, one example of arrangement 2 can include the vector (andthus recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct) encoding the heavychain polypeptide that includes VH and CH1, and the light chainpolypeptide that includes VL and CL, in which the linker sequence ispositioned between the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding theheavy chain polypeptide and the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the light chain polypeptide.

A second example of arrangement of 2 can include the vector (and thusrecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct) encoding the heavy chainpolypeptide that includes VH and CH1, and the light chain polypeptidethat includes VL and CL, in which the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the protease cleavage site is positioned between theheterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the heavy chain polypeptideand the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chainpolypeptide.

A third example of arrangement 2 can include the vector (and thusrecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct) encoding the heavy chainpolypeptide that includes VH, CH1, hinge region, CH2, and CH3, and thelight chain polypeptide that includes VL and CL, in which the linkersequence is positioned between the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the heavy chain polypeptide and the heterologous nucleic acidsequence encoding the light chain polypeptide.

A fourth example of arrangement of 2 can include the vector (and thusrecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct) encoding the heavy chainpolypeptide that includes VH, CH1, hinge region, CH2, and CH3, and thelight chain polypeptide that includes VL and CL, in which theheterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the protease cleavage siteis positioned between the heterologous nucleic acid sequence encodingthe heavy chain polypeptide and the heterologous nucleic acid sequenceencoding the light chain polypeptide.

c. Expression from the Recombinant Nucleic Acid Sequence Construct

As described above, the recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct caninclude, amongst the one or more components, the heterologous nucleicacid sequence encoding the heavy chain polypeptide and/or theheterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chain polypeptide.Accordingly, the recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct canfacilitate expression of the heavy chain polypeptide and/or the lightchain polypeptide.

When arrangement 1 as described above is utilized, the first recombinantnucleic acid sequence construct can facilitate the expression of theheavy chain polypeptide and the second recombinant nucleic acid sequenceconstruct can facilitate expression of the light chain polypeptide. Whenarrangement 2 as described above is utilized, the recombinant nucleicacid sequence construct can facilitate the expression of the heavy chainpolypeptide and the light chain polypeptide.

Upon expression, for example, but not limited to, in a cell, organism,or mammal, the heavy chain polypeptide and the light chain polypeptidecan assemble into the synthetic antibody. In particular, the heavy chainpolypeptide and the light chain polypeptide can interact with oneanother such that assembly results in the synthetic antibody beingcapable of binding the desired target molecule, e.g., the antigen, whichis discussed in more detail below, a ligand, including a ligand for areceptor, a receptor, including a ligand-binding site on the receptor, aligand-receptor complex, and a marker, including a cancer marker. Inother embodiments, the heavy chain polypeptide and the light chainpolypeptide can interact with one another such that assembly results inthe synthetic antibody being more effective at binding its targetmolecule as compared to an antibody not assembled as described herein.In some embodiments, the heavy chain polypeptide and the light chainpolypeptide can interact with one another such that assembly results inthe synthetic antibody having a desired biological effect, e.g.,neutralization, inhibition of a ligand binding to a receptor, andrecruitment of immune cells to a cell targeted by the syntheticantibody. In still other embodiments, the heavy chain polypeptide andthe light chain polypeptide can interact with one another such thatassembly results in the synthetic antibody being capable of eliciting orinducing an immune response against the antigen.

d. Vector

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct described above can beplaced in one or more vectors. The one or more vectors can contain anorigin of replication. The one or more vectors can be a plasmid,bacteriophage, bacterial artificial chromosome or yeast artificialchromosome. The one or more vectors can be either a self-replicationextra chromosomal vector, or a vector which integrates into a hostgenome.

The one or more vectors can be a heterologous expression construct,which is generally a plasmid that is used to introduce a specific geneinto a target cell. Once the expression vector is inside the cell, theheavy chain polypeptide and/or light chain polypeptide that are encodedby the recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct is produced by thecellular-transcription and translation machinery ribosomal complexes.The one or more vectors can express large amounts of stable messengerRNA, and therefore proteins.

(1) Expression Vector

The one or more vectors can be a circular plasmid or a linear nucleicacid. The circular plasmid and linear nucleic acid are capable ofdirecting expression of a particular nucleotide sequence in anappropriate subject cell. The one or more vectors comprising therecombinant nucleic acid sequence construct may be chimeric, meaningthat at least one of its components is heterologous with respect to atleast one of its other components.

(2) Plasmid

The one or more vectors can be a plasmid. The plasmid may be useful fortransfecting cells with the recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct.The plasmid may be useful for introducing the recombinant nucleic acidsequence construct into the subject. The plasmid may also comprise aregulatory sequence, which may be well suited for gene expression in acell into which the plasmid is administered.

The plasmid may also comprise a mammalian origin of replication in orderto maintain the plasmid extrachromosomally and produce multiple copiesof the plasmid in a cell. The plasmid may be pVAXI, pCEP4 or pREP4 fromInvitrogen (San Diego, Calif.), which may comprise the Epstein Barrvirus origin of replication and nuclear antigen EBNA-1 coding region,which may produce high copy episomal replication without integration.The backbone of the plasmid may be pAV0242. The plasmid may be areplication defective adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) plasmid.

The plasmid may be pSE420 (Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.), which may beused for protein production in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The plasmidmay also be p YES2 (Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.), which may be usedfor protein production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains of yeast. Theplasmid may also be of the MAXBAC™ complete baculovirus expressionsystem (Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.), which may be used for proteinproduction in insect cells. The plasmid may also be pcDNAI or pcDNA3(Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.), which may be used for proteinproduction in mammalian cells such as Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.

(3) Circular and Linear Vector

The one or more vectors may be circular plasmid, which may transform atarget cell by integration into the cellular genome or existextrachromosomally (e.g., autonomous replicating plasmid with an originof replication). The vector can be pVAX, pcDNA3.0, or provax, or anyother expression vector capable of expressing the heavy chainpolypeptide and/or light chain polypeptide encoded by the recombinantnucleic acid sequence construct.

Also provided herein is a linear nucleic acid, or linear expressioncassette (“LEC”), that is capable of being efficiently delivered to asubject via electroporation and expressing the heavy chain polypeptideand/or light chain polypeptide encoded by the recombinant nucleic acidsequence construct. The LEC may be any linear DNA devoid of anyphosphate backbone. The LEC may not contain any antibiotic resistancegenes and/or a phosphate backbone. The LEC may not contain other nucleicacid sequences unrelated to the desired gene expression.

The LEC may be derived from any plasmid capable of being linearized. Theplasmid may be capable of expressing the heavy chain polypeptide and/orlight chain polypeptide encoded by the recombinant nucleic acid sequenceconstruct. The plasmid can be pNP (Puerto Rico/34) or pM2 (NewCaledonia/99). The plasmid may be WLV009, pVAX, pcDNA3.0, or provax, orany other expression vector capable of expressing the heavy chainpolypeptide and/or light chain polypeptide encoded by the recombinantnucleic acid sequence construct.

The LEC can be perM2. The LEC can be perNP. perNP and perMR can bederived from pNP (Puerto Rico/34) and pM2 (New Caledonia/99),respectively.

(4) Method of Preparing the Vector

Provided herein is a method for preparing the one or more vectors inwhich the recombinant nucleic acid sequence construct has been placed.After the final subcloning step, the vector can be used to inoculate acell culture in a large scale fermentation tank, using known methods inthe art.

In other embodiments, after the final subcloning step, the vector can beused with one or more electroporation (EP) devices. The EP devices aredescribed below in more detail.

The one or more vectors can be formulated or manufactured using acombination of known devices and techniques, but preferably they aremanufactured using a plasmid manufacturing technique that is describedin a licensed, co-pending U.S. provisional application U.S. Ser. No.60/939,792, which was filed on May 23, 2007. In some examples, the DNAplasmids described herein can be formulated at concentrations greaterthan or equal to 10 mg/mL. The manufacturing techniques also include orincorporate various devices and protocols that are commonly known tothose of ordinary skill in the art, in addition to those described inU.S. Ser. No. 60/939,792, including those described in a licensedpatent, U.S. Pat. No. 7,238,522, which issued on Jul. 3, 2007. Theabove-referenced application and patent, U.S. Ser. No. 60/939,792 andU.S. Pat. No. 7,238,522, respectively, are hereby incorporated in theirentirety.

4. ANTIBODY

As described above, the recombinant nucleic acid sequence can encode theantibody, a fragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combinationthereof. The antibody can bind or react with a desired target molecule,which may be the antigen, which is described in more detail below, aligand, including a ligand for a receptor, a receptor, including aligand-binding site on the receptor, a ligand-receptor complex, and amarker, including a cancer marker.

The antibody may comprise a heavy chain and a light chaincomplementarity determining region (“CDR”) set, respectively interposedbetween a heavy chain and a light chain framework (“FR”) set whichprovide support to the CDRs and define the spatial relationship of theCDRs relative to each other. The CDR set may contain three hypervariableregions of a heavy or light chain V region. Proceeding from theN-terminus of a heavy or light chain, these regions are denoted as“CDR1,” “CDR2,” and “CDR3,” respectively. An antigen-binding site,therefore, may include six CDRs, comprising the CDR set from each of aheavy and a light chain V region.

The proteolytic enzyme papain preferentially cleaves IgG molecules toyield several fragments, two of which (the F(ab) fragments) eachcomprise a covalent heterodimer that includes an intact antigen-bindingsite. The enzyme pepsin is able to cleave IgG molecules to provideseveral fragments, including the F(ab′)2 fragment, which comprises bothantigen-binding sites. Accordingly, the antibody can be the Fab orF(ab′)2. The Fab can include the heavy chain polypeptide and the lightchain polypeptide. The heavy chain polypeptide of the Fab can includethe VH region and the CH1 region. The light chain of the Fab can includethe VL region and CL region.

The antibody can be an immunoglobulin (Ig). The Ig can be, for example,IgA, IgM, IgD, IgE, and IgG. The immunoglobulin can include the heavychain polypeptide and the light chain polypeptide. The heavy chainpolypeptide of the immunoglobulin can include a VH region, a CH1 region,a hinge region, a CH2 region, and a CH3 region. The light chainpolypeptide of the immunoglobulin can include a VL region and CL region.

The antibody can be a polyclonal or monoclonal antibody. The antibodycan be a chimeric antibody, a single chain antibody, an affinity maturedantibody, a human antibody, a humanized antibody, or a fully humanantibody. The humanized antibody can be an antibody from a non-humanspecies that binds the desired antigen having one or morecomplementarity determining regions (CDRs) from the non-human speciesand framework regions from a human immunoglobulin molecule.

The antibody can be a bispecific antibody as described below in moredetail. The antibody can be a bifunctional antibody as also describedbelow in more detail.

As described above, the antibody can be generated in the subject uponadministration of the composition to the subject. The antibody may havea half-life within the subject. In some embodiments, the antibody may bemodified to extend or shorten its half-life within the subject thesubject. Such modifications are described below in more detail.

a. Bispecific Antibody

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence can encode a bispecific antibody,a fragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combination thereof. Thebispecific antibody can bind or react with two antigens, for example,two of the antigens described below in more detail. The bispecificantibody can be comprised of fragments of two of the antibodiesdescribed herein, thereby allowing the bispecific antibody to bind orreact with two desired target molecules, which may include the antigen,which is described below in more detail, a ligand, including a ligandfor a receptor, a receptor, including a ligand-binding site on thereceptor, a ligand-receptor complex, and a marker, including a cancermarker.

b. Bifunctional Antibodies

The recombinant nucleic acid sequence can encode a bifunctionalantibody, a fragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combinationthereof. The bifunctional antibody can bind or react with the antigendescribed below. The bifunctional antibody can also be modified toimpart an additional functionality to the antibody beyond recognition ofand binding to the antigen. Such a modification can include, but is notlimited to, coupling to factor H or a fragment thereof. Factor H is asoluble regulator of complement activation and thus, may contribute toan immune response via complement-mediated lysis (CML).

c. Extension of Antibody Half-Life

As described above, the antibody may be modified to extend or shortenthe half-life of the antibody in the subject. The modification mayextend or shorten the half-life of the antibody in the serum of thesubject.

The modification may be present in a constant region of the antibody.The modification may be one or more amino acid substitutions in aconstant region of the antibody that extend the half-life of theantibody as compared to a half-life of an antibody not containing theone or more amino acid substitutions. The modification may be one ormore amino acid substitutions in the CH2 domain of the antibody thatextend the half-life of the antibody as compared to a half-life of anantibody not containing the one or more amino acid substitutions.

In some embodiments, the one or more amino acid substitutions in theconstant region may include replacing a methionine residue in theconstant region with a tyrosine residue, a serine residue in theconstant region with a threonine residue, a threonine residue in theconstant region with a glutamate residue, or any combination thereof,thereby extending the half-life of the antibody.

In other embodiments, the one or more amino acid substitutions in theconstant region may include replacing a methionine residue in the CH2domain with a tyrosine residue, a serine residue in the CH2 domain witha threonine residue, a threonine residue in the CH2 domain with aglutamate residue, or any combination thereof, thereby extending thehalf-life of the antibody.

5. ANTIGEN

The synthetic antibody is directed to the antigen or fragment or variantthereof. The antigen can be a nucleic acid sequence, an amino acidsequence, or a combination thereof. The nucleic acid sequence can beDNA, RNA, cDNA, a variant thereof, a fragment thereof, or a combinationthereof. The amino acid sequence can be a protein, a peptide, a variantthereof, a fragment thereof, or a combination thereof.

The antigen can be from any number of organisms, for example, a virus, aparasite, a bacterium, a fungus, or a mammal. The antigen can beassociated with an autoimmune disease, allergy, or asthma. In otherembodiments, the antigen can be associated with cancer, herpes,influenza, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human papilloma virus (HPV), orhuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

In some embodiments, the antigen is foreign. In some embodiments, theantigen is a self-antigen.

a. Foreign Antigens

In some embodiments, the antigen is foreign. A foreign antigen is anynon-self substance (i.e., originates external to the subject) that, whenintroduced into the body, is capable of stimulating an immune response.

(1) Viral Antigens

The foreign antigen can be a viral antigen, or fragment thereof, orvariant thereof. The viral antigen can be from a virus from one of thefollowing families: Adenoviridae, Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae,Caliciviridae, Coronaviridae, Filoviridae, Hepadnaviridae,Herpesviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Papovaviridae, Paramyxoviridae,Parvoviridae, Picornaviridae, Poxviridae, Reoviridae, Retroviridae,Rhabdoviridae, or Togaviridae. The viral antigen can be from humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV), Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), dengue fevervirus, papilloma viruses, for example, human papilloma virus (HPV),polio virus, hepatitis viruses, for example, hepatitis A virus (HAV),hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis D virus(HDV), and hepatitis E virus (HEV), smallpox virus (Variola major andminor), vaccinia virus, influenza virus, rhinoviruses, equineencephalitis viruses, rubella virus, yellow fever virus, Norwalk virus,hepatitis A virus, human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I), hairy cellleukemia virus (HTLV-II), California encephalitis virus, Hanta virus(hemorrhagic fever), rabies virus, Ebola fever virus, Marburg virus,measles virus, mumps virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), herpessimplex 1 (oral herpes), herpes simplex 2 (genital herpes), herpeszoster (varicella-zoster, a.k.a., chickenpox), cytomegalovirus (CMV),for example human CMV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), flavivirus, foot andmouth disease virus, lassa virus, arenavirus, or cancer causing virus.

(a) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Antigen

The viral antigen may be from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) virus.In some embodiments, the HIV antigen can be a subtype A envelopeprotein, subtype B envelope protein, subtype C envelope protein, subtypeD envelope protein, subtype B Nef-Rev protein, Gag subtype A, B, C, or Dprotein, MPol protein, a nucleic acid or amino acid sequences of Env A,Env B, Env C, Env D, B Nef-Rev, Gag, or any combination thereof.

A synthetic antibody specific for HIV can include a Fab fragmentcomprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:48, which is encoded bythe nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:3, and the amino acid sequence ofSEQ ID NO:49, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ IDNO:4. The synthetic antibody can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQID NO:46, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:6,and the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:47, which is encoded by thenucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7. The Fab fragment comprise theamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:51, which is encoded by the nucleicacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:50. The Fab can comprise the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:53, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO:52.

A synthetic antibody specific for HIV can include an Ig comprising theamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:5. The Ig can comprise the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO:62. The Ig can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO:2, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:63. TheIg can comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:55, which isencoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:54, and the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:57, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequenceSEQ ID NO:56.

(b) Chikungunya Virus

The viral antigen may be from Chikungunya virus. Chikungunya virusbelongs to the alphavirus genus of the Togaviridae family. Chikungunyavirus is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes, suchas the genus Aedes.

In one embodiment, a synthetic antibody specific for CHIKV can beencoded by the recombinant nucleic acid sequence that includes first andsecond recombinant nucleic acid constructs in arrangement 1 as describedabove in more detail. A synthetic antibody specific for CHIKV caninclude a Fab fragment comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO:59, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:58,and the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:61, which is encoded by thenucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:60.

In another embodiment, a synthetic antibody specific for CHIKV can beencoded by the recombinant nucleic acid sequence that includes therecombinant nucleic acid construct in arrangement 2, which is describedabove in more detail. A synthetic antibody specific for CHIKV caninclude an immunoglobulin (Ig) comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQID NO:66, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:65.

The synthetic antibody specific for CHIKV can provide protection againstearly and late exposures to CHIKV. The synthetic antibody specific forCHIKV can provide protection against different routes of exposure toCHIKV, for example, but not limited to, subcutaneous or intranasalroutes. The synthetic antibody specific for CHIKV can provide protectionagainst CHIKV infection, thereby resulting in survival of the infection.

(c) Dengue Virus

The viral antigen may be from Dengue virus. The Dengue virus antigen maybe one of three proteins or polypeptides (C, prM, and E) that form thevirus particle. The Dengue virus antigen may be one of seven otherproteins or polypeptides (NS1, NS2a, NS2b, NS3, NS4a, NS4b, NS5) whichare involved in replication of the virus. The Dengue virus may be one offive strains or serotypes of the virus, including DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3and DENV-4. The antigen may be any combination of a plurality of Denguevirus antigens.

In one embodiment, a synthetic antibody for DENV can be encoded by therecombinant nucleic acid sequence that includes the recombinant nucleicacid construct in arrangement 2, which is described above in moredetail. A synthetic antibody specific for Dengue virus can include a Igcomprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:45, which is encoded bythe nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:44. In another embodiment, asynthetic antibody specific for Dengue virus can include a Ig comprisingthe amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:68, which is encoded by the nucleicacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:67. In another embodiment, a syntheticantibody specific for Dengue virus can include a Ig comprising the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:72, which is encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:71. In still another embodiment, a syntheticantibody specific for Dengue virus can include a Ig comprising the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:76, which is encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:75.

In some embodiments, the synthetic antibody specific for Dengue viruscan include one or more amino acid substitutions that reduce or preventbinding of the antibody to FcyR1a. The one or more amino acidsubstitutions may be in the constant region of the antibody. The one ormore amino acid substitutions may include replacing a leucine residuewith an alanine residue in the constant region of the antibody, i.e.,also known herein as LA, LA mutation, or LA substitution. The one ormore amino acids substitutions may include replacing two leucineresidues, each with an alanine residue, in the constant region of theantibody and also known herein as LALA, LALA mutation, or LALAsubstitution. The presence of the LALA substitution may prevent or blockthe antibody from binding to FcyR1a, and thus, the antibody does notenhance or cause ADE, but still neutralizes DENV.

In some embodiments, the synthetic antibody specific for Dengue virusand containing the LALA substitution can include an Ig comprising theamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:70, which is encoded by the nucleicacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:69. In other embodiments, the syntheticantibody specific for Dengue virus and containing the LALA substitutioncan include an Ig comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:74,which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:73. In stillother embodiments, the synthetic antibody specific for Dengue virus andcontaining the LALA substitution can include an Ig comprising the aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:78, which is encoded by the nucleic acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:77.

In some embodiments, the synthetic antibody specific for Dengue viruscan be a combination of anti-Dengue antibodies, for example, two ormore, three or more, or four or more antibodies. Such a combination mayprovide neutralization of multiple serotypes of DENV.

(d) Hepatitis Antigen

The viral antigen may include a hepatitis virus antigen (i.e., hepatitisantigen), or a fragment thereof, or a variant thereof. The hepatitisantigen can be an antigen or immunogen from one or more of hepatitis Avirus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitisD virus (HDV), and/or hepatitis E virus (HEV).

The hepatitis antigen can be an antigen from HAV. The hepatitis antigencan be a HAV capsid protein, a HAV non-structural protein, a fragmentthereof, a variant thereof, or a combination thereof.

The hepatitis antigen can be an antigen from HCV. The hepatitis antigencan be a HCV nucleocapsid protein (i.e., core protein), a HCV envelopeprotein (e.g., E1 and E2), a HCV non-structural protein (e.g., NS1, NS2,NS3, NS4a, NS4b, NS5a, and NS5b), a fragment thereof, a variant thereof,or a combination thereof.

The hepatitis antigen can be an antigen from HDV. The hepatitis antigencan be a HDV delta antigen, fragment thereof, or variant thereof.

The hepatitis antigen can be an antigen from HEV. The hepatitis antigencan be a HEV capsid protein, fragment thereof, or variant thereof.

The hepatitis antigen can be an antigen from HBV. The hepatitis antigencan be a HBV core protein, a HBV surface protein, a HBV DNA polymerase,a HBV protein encoded by gene X, fragment thereof, variant thereof, orcombination thereof. The hepatitis antigen can be a HBV genotype A coreprotein, a HBV genotype B core protein, a HBV genotype C core protein, aHBV genotype D core protein, a HBV genotype E core protein, a HBVgenotype F core protein, a HBV genotype G core protein, a HBV genotype Hcore protein, a HBV genotype A surface protein, a HBV genotype B surfaceprotein, a HBV genotype C surface protein, a HBV genotype D surfaceprotein, a HBV genotype E surface protein, a HBV genotype F surfaceprotein, a HBV genotype G surface protein, a HBV genotype H surfaceprotein, fragment thereof, variant thereof, or combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the hepatitis antigen can be an antigen from HBVgenotype A, HBV genotype B, HBV genotype C, HBV genotype D, HBV genotypeE, HBV genotype F, HBV genotype G, or HBV genotype H.

(e) Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Antigen

The viral antigen may comprise an antigen from HPV. The HPV antigen canbe from HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 52, and 58 which causecervical cancer, rectal cancer, and/or other cancers. The HPV antigencan be from HPV types 6 and 11, which cause genital warts, and are knownto be causes of head and neck cancer.

The HPV antigens can be the HPV E6 or E7 domains from each HPV type. Forexample, for HPV type 16 (HPV16), the HPV16 antigen can include theHPV16 E6 antigen, the HPV16 E7 antigen, fragments, variants, orcombinations thereof. Similarly, the HPV antigen can be HPV 6 E6 and/orE7, HPV 11 E6 and/or E7, HPV 18 E6 and/or E7, HPV 31 E6 and/or E7, HPV33 E6 and/or E7, HPV 52 E6 and/or E7, or HPV 58 E6 and/or E7, fragments,variants, or combinations thereof.

(f) RSV Antigen

The viral antigen may comprise a RSV antigen. The RSV antigen can be ahuman RSV fusion protein (also referred to herein as “RSV F,” “RSV Fprotein,” and “F protein”), or fragment or variant thereof. The humanRSV fusion protein can be conserved between RSV subtypes A and B. TheRSV antigen can be a RSV F protein, or fragment or variant thereof, fromthe RSV Long strain (GenBank AAX23994.1). The RSV antigen can be a RSV Fprotein from the RSV A2 strain (GenBank AAB59858.1), or a fragment orvariant thereof. The RSV antigen can be a monomer, a dimer, or trimer ofthe RSV F protein, or a fragment or variant thereof.

The RSV F protein can be in a prefusion form or a postfusion form. Thepostfusion form of RSV F elicits high titer neutralizing antibodies inimmunized animals and protects the animals from RSV challenge.

The RSV antigen can also be human RSV attachment glycoprotein (alsoreferred to herein as “RSV G,” “RSV G protein,” and “G protein”), orfragment or variant thereof. The human RSV G protein differs between RSVsubtypes A and B. The antigen can be RSV G protein, or fragment orvariant thereof, from the RSV Long strain (GenBank AAX23993). The RSVantigen can be RSV G protein from the RSV subtype B isolate H5601, theRSV subtype B isolate H1068, the RSV subtype B isolate H5598, the RSVsubtype B isolate H1123, or a fragment or variant thereof.

In other embodiments, the RSV antigen can be human RSV non-structuralprotein 1 (“NS1 protein”), or fragment or variant thereof. For example,the RSV antigen can be RSV NS1 protein, or fragment or variant thereof,from the RSV Long strain (GenBank AAX23987.1). The RSV antigen human canalso be RSV non-structural protein 2 (“NS2 protein”), or fragment orvariant thereof. For example, the RSV antigen can be RSV NS2 protein, orfragment or variant thereof, from the RSV Long strain (GenBankAAX23988.1). The RSV antigen can further be human RSV nucleocapsid (“N”)protein, or fragment or variant thereof. For example, the RSV antigencan be RSV N protein, or fragment or variant thereof, from the RSV Longstrain (GenBank AAX23989.1). The RSV antigen can be human RSVPhosphoprotein (“P”) protein, or fragment or variant thereof. Forexample, the RSV antigen can be RSV P protein, or fragment or variantthereof, from the RSV Long strain (GenBank AAX23990.1). The RSV antigenalso can be human RSV Matrix protein (“M”) protein, or fragment orvariant thereof. For example, the RSV antigen can be RSV M protein, orfragment or variant thereof, from the RSV Long strain (GenBankAAX23991.1).

In still other embodiments, the RSV antigen can be human RSV smallhydrophobic (“SH”) protein, or fragment or variant thereof. For example,the RSV antigen can be RSV SH protein, or fragment or variant thereof,from the RSV Long strain (GenBank AAX23992.1). The RSV antigen can alsobe human RSV Matrix protein 2-1 (“M2-1”) protein, or fragment or variantthereof. For example, the RSV antigen can be RSV M2-1 protein, orfragment or variant thereof, from the RSV Long strain (GenBankAAX23995.1). The RSV antigen can further be human RSV Matrix protein 2-2(“M2-2”) protein, or fragment or variant thereof. For example, the RSVantigen can be RSV M2-2 protein, or fragment or variant thereof, fromthe RSV Long strain (GenBank AAX23997.1). The RSV antigen human can beRSV Polymerase L (“L”) protein, or fragment or variant thereof. Forexample, the RSV antigen can be RSV L protein, or fragment or variantthereof, from the RSV Long strain (GenBank AAX23996.1).

In further embodiments, the RSV antigen can have an optimized amino acidsequence of NS1, NS2, N, P, M, SH, M2-1, M2-2, or L protein. The RSVantigen can be a human RSV protein or recombinant antigen, such as anyone of the proteins encoded by the human RSV genome.

In other embodiments, the RSV antigen can be, but is not limited to, theRSV F protein from the RSV Long strain, the RSV G protein from the RSVLong strain, the optimized amino acid RSV G amino acid sequence, thehuman RSV genome of the RSV Long strain, the optimized amino acid RSV Famino acid sequence, the RSV NS1 protein from the RSV Long strain, theRSV NS2 protein from the RSV Long strain, the RSV N protein from the RSVLong strain, the RSV P protein from the RSV Long strain, the RSV Mprotein from the RSV Long strain, the RSV SH protein from the RSV Longstrain, the RSV M2-1 protein from the RSV Long strain, the RSV M2-2protein from the RSV Long strain, the RSV L protein from the RSV Longstrain, the RSV G protein from the RSV subtype B isolate H5601, the RSVG protein from the RSV subtype B isolate H1068, the RSV G protein fromthe RSV subtype B isolate H5598, the RSV G protein from the RSV subtypeB isolate H1123, or fragment thereof, or variant thereof.

(g) Influenza Antigen

The viral antigen may comprise an antigen from influenza virus. Theinfluenza antigens are those capable of eliciting an immune response ina mammal against one or more influenza serotypes. The antigen cancomprise the full length translation product HA0, subunit HAL subunitHA2, a variant thereof, a fragment thereof or a combination thereof. Theinfluenza hemagglutinin antigen can be derived from multiple strains ofinfluenza A serotype H1, serotype H2, a hybrid sequence derived fromdifferent sets of multiple strains of influenza A serotype H1, orderived from multiple strains of influenza B. The influenzahemagglutinin antigen can be from influenza B.

The influenza antigen can also contain at least one antigenic epitopethat can be effective against particular influenza immunogens againstwhich an immune response can be induced. The antigen may provide anentire repertoire of immunogenic sites and epitopes present in an intactinfluenza virus. The antigen may be derived from hemagglutinin antigensequences from a plurality of influenza A virus strains of one serotypesuch as a plurality of influenza A virus strains of serotype H1 or ofserotype H2. The antigen may be a hybrid hemagglutinin antigen sequencederived from combining two different hemagglutinin antigen sequences orportions thereof. Each of two different hemagglutinin antigen sequencesmay be derived from a different set of a plurality of influenza A virusstrains of one serotype such as a plurality of influenza A virus strainsof serotype H1. The antigen may be a hemagglutinin antigen sequencederived from hemagglutinin antigen sequences from a plurality ofinfluenza B virus strains.

In some embodiments, the influenza antigen can be H1 HA, H2 HA, H3 HA,H5 HA, or a BHA antigen.

(h) Ebola Virus

The viral antigen may be from Ebola virus. Ebola virus disease (EVD) orEbola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) includes any of four of the five knownebola viruses including Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), Ebola virus (EBOV),Sudan virus (SUDV), and Taï Forest virus (TAFV, also referred to as Côted'Ivoire Ebola virus (Ivory Coast Ebolavirus, CIEBOV).

(2) Bacterial Antigens

The foreign antigen can be a bacterial antigen or fragment or variantthereof. The bacterium can be from any one of the following phyla:Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Aquificae, Bacteroidetes, Caldiserica,Chlamydiae, Chlorobi, Chloroflexi, Chrysiogenetes, Cyanobacteria,Deferribacteres, Deinococcus-Thermus, Dictyoglomi, Elusimicrobia,Fibrobacteres, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes,Lentisphaerae, Nitrospira, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes,Synergistetes, Tenericutes, Thermodesulfobacteria, Thermotogae, andVerrucomicrobia.

The bacterium can be a gram positive bacterium or a gram negativebacterium. The bacterium can be an aerobic bacterium or an anerobicbacterium. The bacterium can be an autotrophic bacterium or aheterotrophic bacterium. The bacterium can be a mesophile, aneutrophile, an extremophile, an acidophile, an alkaliphile, athermophile, a psychrophile, an halophile, or an osmophile.

The bacterium can be an anthrax bacterium, an antibiotic resistantbacterium, a disease causing bacterium, a food poisoning bacterium, aninfectious bacterium, Salmonella bacterium, Staphylococcus bacterium,Streptococcus bacterium, or tetanus bacterium. The bacterium can be amycobacteria, Clostridium tetani, Yersinia pestis, Bacillus anthracis,methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), or Clostridiumdifficile. The bacterium can be Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

(a) Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigens

The bacterial antigen may be a Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen (i.e.,TB antigen or TB immunogen), or fragment thereof, or variant thereof.The TB antigen can be from the Ag85 family of TB antigens, for example,Ag85A and Ag85B. The TB antigen can be from the Esx family of TBantigens, for example, EsxA, EsxB, EsxC, EsxD, EsxE, EsxF, EsxH, EsxO,EsxQ, EsxR, EsxS, EsxT, EsxU, EsxV, and EsxW.

(3) Parasitic Antigens

The foreign antigen can be a parasite antigen or fragment or variantthereof. The parasite can be a protozoa, helminth, or ectoparasite. Thehelminth (i.e., worm) can be a flatworm (e.g., flukes and tapeworms), athorny-headed worm, or a round worm (e.g., pinworms). The ectoparasitecan be lice, fleas, ticks, and mites.

The parasite can be any parasite causing any one of the followingdiseases: Acanthamoeba keratitis, Amoebiasis, Ascariasis, Babesiosis,Balantidiasis, Baylisascariasis, Chagas disease, Clonorchiasis,Cochliomyia, Cryptosporidiosis, Diphyllobothriasis, Dracunculiasis,Echinococcosis, Elephantiasis, Enterobiasis, Fascioliasis,Fasciolopsiasis, Filariasis, Giardiasis, Gnathostomiasis,Hymenolepiasis, Isosporiasis, Katayama fever, Leishmaniasis, Lymedisease, Malaria, Metagonimiasis, Myiasis, Onchocerciasis, Pediculosis,Scabies, Schistosomiasis, Sleeping sickness, Strongyloidiasis,Taeniasis, Toxocariasis, Toxoplasmosis, Trichinosis, and Trichuriasis.

The parasite can be Acanthamoeba, Anisakis, Ascaris lumbricoides,Botfly, Balantidium coli, Bedbug, Cestoda (tapeworm), Chiggers,Cochliomyia hominivorax, Entamoeba histolytica, Fasciola hepatica,Giardia lamblia, Hookworm, Leishmania, Linguatula serrata, Liver fluke,Loa loa, Paragonimus-lung fluke, Pinworm, Plasmodium falciparum,Schistosoma, Strongyloides stercoralis, Mite, Tapeworm, Toxoplasmagondii, Trypanosoma, Whipworm, or Wuchereria bancrofti.

(a) Malaria Antigen

The foreign antigen may be a malaria antigen (i.e., PF antigen or PFimmunogen), or fragment thereof, or variant thereof. The antigen can befrom a parasite causing malaria. The malaria causing parasite can bePlasmodium falciparum. The Plasmodium falciparum antigen can include thecircumsporozoite (CS) antigen.

In some embodiments, the malaria antigen can be one of P. falciparumimmunogens CS; LSA1; TRAP; CelTOS; and Ama1. The immunogens may be fulllength or immunogenic fragments of full length proteins.

In other embodiments, the malaria antigen can be TRAP, which is alsoreferred to as SSP2. In still other embodiments, the malaria antigen canbe CelTOS, which is also referred to as Ag2 and is a highly conservedPlasmodium antigen. In further embodiments, the malaria antigen can beAma1, which is a highly conserved Plasmodium antigen. In someembodiments, the malaria antigen can be a CS antigen.

In other embodiments, the malaria antigen can be a fusion proteincomprising a combination of two or more of the PF proteins set forthherein. For example, fusion proteins may comprise two or more of CSimmunogen, ConLSA1 immunogen, ConTRAP immunogen, ConCelTOS immunogen,and ConAma1 immunogen linked directly adjacent to each other or linkedwith a spacer or one or more amino acids in between. In someembodiments, the fusion protein comprises two PF immunogens; in someembodiments the fusion protein comprises three PF immunogens, in someembodiments the fusion protein comprises four PF immunogens, and in someembodiments the fusion protein comprises five PF immunogens. Fusionproteins with two PF immunogens may comprise: CS and LSA1; CS and TRAP;CS and CelTOS; CS and Ama1; LSA1 and TRAP; LSA1 and CelTOS; LSA1 andAma1; TRAP and CelTOS; TRAP and Ama1; or CelTOS and Ama1. Fusionproteins with three PF immunogens may comprise: CS, LSA1 and TRAP; CS,LSA1 and CelTOS; CS, LSA1 and Ama1; LSA1, TRAP and CelTOS; LSA1, TRAPand Ama1; or TRAP, CelTOS and Ama1. Fusion proteins with four PFimmunogens may comprise: CS, LSA1, TRAP and CelTOS; CS, LSA1, TRAP andAma1; CS, LSA1, CelTOS and Ama1; CS, TRAP, CelTOS and Ama1; or LSA1,TRAP, CelTOS and Ama1. Fusion proteins with five PF immunogens maycomprise CS or CS-alt, LSA1, TRAP, CelTOS and Ama1.

(4) Fungal Antigens

The foreign antigen can be a fungal antigen or fragment or variantthereof. The fungus can be Aspergillus species, Blastomycesdermatitidis, Candida yeasts (e.g., Candida albicans), Coccidioides,Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii, dermatophyte, Fusariumspecies, Histoplasma capsulatum, Mucoromycotina, Pneumocystis jirovecii,Sporothrix schenckii, Exserohilum, or Cladosporium.

b. Self Antigens

In some embodiments, the antigen is a self antigen. A self antigen maybe a constituent of the subject's own body that is capable ofstimulating an immune response. In some embodiments, a self antigen doesnot provoke an immune response unless the subject is in a disease state,e.g., an autoimmune disease.

Self antigens may include, but are not limited to, cytokines, antibodiesagainst viruses such as those listed above including HIV and Dengue,antigens affecting cancer progression or development, and cell surfacereceptors or transmembrane proteins.

(1) WT-1

The self-antigen antigen can be Wilm's tumor suppressor gene 1 (WT1), afragment thereof, a variant thereof, or a combination thereof. WT1 is atranscription factor containing at the N-terminus, aproline/glutamine-rich DNA-binding domain and at the C-terminus, fourzinc finger motifs. WT1 plays a role in the normal development of theurogenital system and interacts with numerous factors, for example, p53,a known tumor suppressor and the serine protease HtrA2, which cleavesWT1 at multiple sites after treatment with a cytotoxic drug. Mutation ofWT1 can lead to tumor or cancer formation, for example, Wilm's tumor ortumors expressing WT1.

(2) EGFR

The self-antigen may include an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)or a fragment or variation thereof. EGFR (also referred to as ErbB-1 andHER1) is the cell-surface receptor for members of the epidermal growthfactor family (EGF-family) of extracellular protein ligands. EGFR is amember of the ErbB family of receptors, which includes four closelyrelated receptor tyrosine kinases: EGFR (ErbB-1), HER2/c-neu (ErbB-2),Her 3 (ErbB-3), and Her 4 (ErbB-4). Mutations affecting EGFR expressionor activity could result in cancer.

The antigen may include an ErbB-2 antigen. Erb-2 (human epidermal growthfactor receptor 2) is also known as Neu, HER2, CD340 (cluster ofdifferentiation 340), or p185 and is encoded by the ERBB2 gene.Amplification or over-expression of this gene has been shown to play arole in the development and progression of certain aggressive types ofbreast cancer. In approximately 25-30% of women with breast cancer, agenetic alteration occurs in the ERBB2 gene, resulting in the productionof an increased amount of HER2 on the surface of tumor cells. Thisoverexpression of HER2 promotes rapid cell division and thus, HER2 markstumor cells.

A synthetic antibody specific for HER2 can include a Fab fragmentcomprising an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:41, which is encoded bythe nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:40, and an amino acid sequence ofSEQ ID NO:43, which is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ IDNO:42.

(3) Cocaine

The self-antigen may be a cocaine receptor antigen. Cocaine receptorsinclude dopamine transporters.

(4) PD-1

The self-antigen may include programmed death 1 (PD-1). Programmed death1 (PD-1) and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, deliver inhibitory signalsthat regulate the balance between T cell activation, tolerance, andimmunopathology. PD-1 is a 288 amino acid cell surface protein moleculeincluding an extracellular IgV domain followed by a transmembrane regionand an intracellular tail.

(5) 4-1BB

The self-antigen may include 4-1BB ligand. 4-1BB ligand is a type 2transmembrane glycoprotein belonging to the TNF superfamily. 4-1BBligand may be expressed on activated T Lymphocytes. 4-1BB is anactivation-induced T-cell costimulatory molecule. Signaling via 4-1BBupregulates survival genes, enhances cell division, induces cytokineproduction, and prevents activation-induced cell death in T cells.

(6) CTLA4

The self-antigen may include CTLA-4 (Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Antigen 4),also known as CD152 (Cluster of differentiation 152). CTLA-4 is aprotein receptor found on the surface of T cells, which lead thecellular immune attack on antigens. The antigen may be a fragment ofCTLA-4, such as an extracellular V domain, a transmembrane domain, and acytoplasmic tail, or combination thereof.

(7) IL-6

The self-antigen may include interleukin 6 (IL-6). IL-6 stimulates theinflammatory and auto-immune processes in many diseases including, butnot limited to, diabetes, atherosclerosis, depression, Alzheimer'sDisease, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple myeloma, cancer,Behcet's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.

(8) MCP-1

The self-antigen may include monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1).MCP-1 is also referred to as chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) orsmall inducible cytokine A2. MCP-1 is a cytokine that belongs to the CCchemokine family. MCP-1 recruits monocytes, memory T cells, anddendritic cells to the sites of inflammation produced by either tissueinjury or infection.

(9) Amyloid Beta

The self-antigen may include amyloid beta (Aβ) or a fragment or avariant thereof. The Aβ antigen can comprise an Aβ(X-Y) peptide, whereinthe amino acid sequence from amino acid position X to amino acid Y ofthe human sequence AP protein including both X and Y, in particular tothe amino acid sequence from amino acid position X to amino acidposition Y of the amino acid sequenceDAEFRHDSGYEVHHQKLVFFAEDVGSNKGAIIGLMVGGVVIATVIVI (corresponding to aminoacid positions 1 to 47; the human query sequence) or variants thereof.The Aβ antigen can comprise an AP polypeptide of Aβ(X-Y) polypeptidewherein X can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, or 32 and Ycan be 47, 46, 45, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32,31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, or 15.The AP polypeptide can comprise a fragment that is at least 15, at least16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, at least 20, at least 21, atleast 22, at least 23, at least 24, at least 25, at least 30, at least35, at least 36, at least 37, at least 38, at least 39, at least 40, atleast 41, at least 42, at least 43, at least 44, at least 45, or atleast 46 amino acids.

(10) IP-10

The self-antigen may include interferon (IFN)-gamma-induced protein 10(IP-10). IP-10 is also known as small-inducible cytokine B10 or C-X-Cmotif chemokine 10 (CXCL10). CXCL10 is secreted by several cell types,such as monocytes, endothelial cells and fibroblasts, in response toIFN-γ.

(11) PSMA

The self-antigen may include prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).PSMA is also known as glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII),N-acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate peptidase I (NAALADase I), NAAGpeptidase, or folate hydrolase (FOLH). PMSA is an integral membraneprotein highly expressed by prostate cancer cells.

c. Other Antigens

In some embodiments, the antigen is an antigen other than the foreignantigen and/or the self-antigen.

(a) HIV-1 VRC01

The other antigen can be HIV-1 VRC01. HIV-1 VCR01 is a neutralizingCD4-binding site-antibody for HIV. HIV-1 VCR01 contacts portions ofHIV-1 including within the gp120 loop D, the CD4 binding loop, and theV5 region of HIV-1.

(b) HIV-1 PG9

The other antigen can be HIV-1 PG9. HIV-1 PG9 is the founder member ofan expanding family of glycan-dependent human antibodies thatpreferentially bind the HIV (HIV-1) envelope (Env) glycoprotein (gp)trimer and broadly neutralize the virus.

(c) HIV-1 4E10

The other antigen can be HIV-1 4E10. HIV-1 4E10 is a neutralizinganti-HIV antibody. HIV-1 4E10 is directed against linear epitopes mappedto the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of HIV-1, which islocated at the C terminus of the gp41 ectodomain.

(d) DV-SF1

The other antigen can be DV-SF1. DV-SF1 is a neutralizing antibody thatbinds the envelope protein of the four Dengue virus serotypes.

(e) DV-SF2

The other antigen can be DV-SF2. DV-SF2 is a neutralizing antibody thatbinds an epitope of the Dengue virus. DV-SF2 can be specific for theDENV4 serotype.

(f) DV-SF3

The other antigen can be DV-SF3. DV-SF3 is a neutralizing antibody thatbinds the EDIII A strand of the Dengue virus envelope protein.

6. EXCIPIENTS AND OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE COMPOSITION

The composition may further comprise a pharmaceutically acceptableexcipient. The pharmaceutically acceptable excipient can be functionalmolecules such as vehicles, carriers, or diluents. The pharmaceuticallyacceptable excipient can be a transfection facilitating agent, which caninclude surface active agents, such as immune-stimulating complexes(ISCOMS), Freunds incomplete adjuvant, LPS analog includingmonophosphoryl lipid A, muramyl peptides, quinone analogs, vesicles suchas squalene and squalene, hyaluronic acid, lipids, liposomes, calciumions, viral proteins, polyanions, polycations, or nanoparticles, orother known transfection facilitating agents.

The transfection facilitating agent is a polyanion, polycation,including poly-L-glutamate (LGS), or lipid. The transfectionfacilitating agent is poly-L-glutamate, and the poly-L-glutamate may bepresent in the composition at a concentration less than 6 mg/ml. Thetransfection facilitating agent may also include surface active agentssuch as immune-stimulating complexes (ISCOMS), Freunds incompleteadjuvant, LPS analog including monophosphoryl lipid A, muramyl peptides,quinone analogs and vesicles such as squalene and squalene, andhyaluronic acid may also be used administered in conjunction with thecomposition. The composition may also include a transfectionfacilitating agent such as lipids, liposomes, including lecithinliposomes or other liposomes known in the art, as a DNA-liposome mixture(see for example WO9324640), calcium ions, viral proteins, polyanions,polycations, or nanoparticles, or other known transfection facilitatingagents. The transfection facilitating agent is a polyanion, polycation,including poly-L-glutamate (LGS), or lipid. Concentration of thetransfection agent in the vaccine is less than 4 mg/ml, less than 2mg/ml, less than 1 mg/ml, less than 0.750 mg/ml, less than 0.500 mg/ml,less than 0.250 mg/ml, less than 0.100 mg/ml, less than 0.050 mg/ml, orless than 0.010 mg/ml.

The composition may further comprise a genetic facilitator agent asdescribed in U.S. Ser. No. 021,579 filed Apr. 1, 1994, which is fullyincorporated by reference.

The composition may comprise DNA at quantities of from about 1 nanogramto 100 milligrams; about 1 microgram to about 10 milligrams; orpreferably about 0.1 microgram to about 10 milligrams; or morepreferably about 1 milligram to about 2 milligram. In some preferredembodiments, composition according to the present invention comprisesabout 5 nanogram to about 1000 micrograms of DNA. In some preferredembodiments, composition can contain about 10 nanograms to about 800micrograms of DNA. In some preferred embodiments, the composition cancontain about 0.1 to about 500 micrograms of DNA. In some preferredembodiments, the composition can contain about 1 to about 350 microgramsof DNA. In some preferred embodiments, the composition can contain about25 to about 250 micrograms, from about 100 to about 200 microgram, fromabout 1 nanogram to 100 milligrams; from about 1 microgram to about 10milligrams; from about 0.1 microgram to about 10 milligrams; from about1 milligram to about 2 milligram, from about 5 nanogram to about 1000micrograms, from about 10 nanograms to about 800 micrograms, from about0.1 to about 500 micrograms, from about 1 to about 350 micrograms, fromabout 25 to about 250 micrograms, from about 100 to about 200 microgramof DNA.

The composition can be formulated according to the mode ofadministration to be used. An injectable pharmaceutical composition canbe sterile, pyrogen free and particulate free. An isotonic formulationor solution can be used. Additives for isotonicity can include sodiumchloride, dextrose, mannitol, sorbitol, and lactose. The composition cancomprise a vasoconstriction agent. The isotonic solutions can includephosphate buffered saline. The composition can further comprisestabilizers including gelatin and albumin. The stabilizers can allow theformulation to be stable at room or ambient temperature for extendedperiods of time, including LGS or polycations or polyanions.

7. METHOD OF GENERATING THE SYNTHETIC ANTIBODY

The present invention also relates a method of generating the syntheticantibody. The method can include administering the composition to thesubject in need thereof by using the method of delivery described inmore detail below. Accordingly, the synthetic antibody is generated inthe subject or in vivo upon administration of the composition to thesubject.

The method can also include introducing the composition into one or morecells, and therefore, the synthetic antibody can be generated orproduced in the one or more cells. The method can further includeintroducing the composition into one or more tissues, for example, butnot limited to, skin and muscle, and therefore, the synthetic antibodycan be generated or produced in the one or more tissues.

8. METHOD OF IDENTIFYING OR SCREENING FOR THE ANTIBODY

The present invention further relates to a method of identifying orscreening for the antibody described above, which is reactive to orbinds the antigen described above. The method of identifying orscreening for the antibody can use the antigen in methodologies known inthose skilled in art to identify or screen for the antibody. Suchmethodologies can include, but are not limited to, selection of theantibody from a library (e.g., phage display) and immunization of ananimal followed by isolation and/or purification of the antibody.

9. METHOD OF DELIVERY OF THE COMPOSITION

The present invention also relates to a method of delivering thecomposition to the subject in need thereof. The method of delivery caninclude, administering the composition to the subject. Administrationcan include, but is not limited to, DNA injection with and without invivo electroporation, liposome mediated delivery, and nanoparticlefacilitated delivery.

The mammal receiving delivery of the composition may be human, primate,non-human primate, cow, cattle, sheep, goat, antelope, bison, waterbuffalo, bison, bovids, deer, hedgehogs, elephants, llama, alpaca, mice,rats, and chicken.

The composition may be administered by different routes includingorally, parenterally, sublingually, transdermally, rectally,transmucosally, topically, via inhalation, via buccal administration,intrapleurally, intravenous, intraarterial, intraperitoneal,subcutaneous, intramuscular, intranasal intrathecal, and intraarticularor combinations thereof. For veterinary use, the composition may beadministered as a suitably acceptable formulation in accordance withnormal veterinary practice. The veterinarian can readily determine thedosing regimen and route of administration that is most appropriate fora particular animal. The composition may be administered by traditionalsyringes, needleless injection devices, “microprojectile bombardmentgone guns”, or other physical methods such as electroporation (“EP”),“hydrodynamic method”, or ultrasound.

a. Electroporation

Administration of the composition via electroporation may beaccomplished using electroporation devices that can be configured todeliver to a desired tissue of a mammal, a pulse of energy effective tocause reversible pores to form in cell membranes, and preferable thepulse of energy is a constant current similar to a preset current inputby a user. The electroporation device may comprise an electroporationcomponent and an electrode assembly or handle assembly. Theelectroporation component may include and incorporate one or more of thevarious elements of the electroporation devices, including: controller,current waveform generator, impedance tester, waveform logger, inputelement, status reporting element, communication port, memory component,power source, and power switch. The electroporation may be accomplishedusing an in vivo electroporation device, for example CELLECTRA EP system(Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) or Elgen electroporator(Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) to facilitatetransfection of cells by the plasmid.

The electroporation component may function as one element of theelectroporation devices, and the other elements are separate elements(or components) in communication with the electroporation component. Theelectroporation component may function as more than one element of theelectroporation devices, which may be in communication with still otherelements of the electroporation devices separate from theelectroporation component. The elements of the electroporation devicesexisting as parts of one electromechanical or mechanical device may notlimited as the elements can function as one device or as separateelements in communication with one another. The electroporationcomponent may be capable of delivering the pulse of energy that producesthe constant current in the desired tissue, and includes a feedbackmechanism. The electrode assembly may include an electrode array havinga plurality of electrodes in a spatial arrangement, wherein theelectrode assembly receives the pulse of energy from the electroporationcomponent and delivers same to the desired tissue through theelectrodes. At least one of the plurality of electrodes is neutralduring delivery of the pulse of energy and measures impedance in thedesired tissue and communicates the impedance to the electroporationcomponent. The feedback mechanism may receive the measured impedance andcan adjust the pulse of energy delivered by the electroporationcomponent to maintain the constant current.

A plurality of electrodes may deliver the pulse of energy in adecentralized pattern. The plurality of electrodes may deliver the pulseof energy in the decentralized pattern through the control of theelectrodes under a programmed sequence, and the programmed sequence isinput by a user to the electroporation component. The programmedsequence may comprise a plurality of pulses delivered in sequence,wherein each pulse of the plurality of pulses is delivered by at leasttwo active electrodes with one neutral electrode that measuresimpedance, and wherein a subsequent pulse of the plurality of pulses isdelivered by a different one of at least two active electrodes with oneneutral electrode that measures impedance.

The feedback mechanism may be performed by either hardware or software.The feedback mechanism may be performed by an analog closed-loopcircuit. The feedback occurs every 50 μs, 20 μs, 10 μs or 1 μs, but ispreferably a real-time feedback or instantaneous (i.e., substantiallyinstantaneous as determined by available techniques for determiningresponse time). The neutral electrode may measure the impedance in thedesired tissue and communicates the impedance to the feedback mechanism,and the feedback mechanism responds to the impedance and adjusts thepulse of energy to maintain the constant current at a value similar tothe preset current. The feedback mechanism may maintain the constantcurrent continuously and instantaneously during the delivery of thepulse of energy.

Examples of electroporation devices and electroporation methods that mayfacilitate delivery of the composition of the present invention, includethose described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,245,963 by Draghia-Akli, et al., U.S.Patent Pub. 2005/0052630 submitted by Smith, et al., the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Otherelectroporation devices and electroporation methods that may be used forfacilitating delivery of the composition include those provided inco-pending and co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/874,072,filed Oct. 17, 2007, which claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) toU.S. Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 60/852,149, filed Oct. 17, 2006,and 60/978,982, filed Oct. 10, 2007, all of which are herebyincorporated in their entirety.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,245,963 by Draghia-Akli, et al. describes modularelectrode systems and their use for facilitating the introduction of abiomolecule into cells of a selected tissue in a body or plant. Themodular electrode systems may comprise a plurality of needle electrodes;a hypodermic needle; an electrical connector that provides a conductivelink from a programmable constant-current pulse controller to theplurality of needle electrodes; and a power source. An operator cangrasp the plurality of needle electrodes that are mounted on a supportstructure and firmly insert them into the selected tissue in a body orplant. The biomolecules are then delivered via the hypodermic needleinto the selected tissue. The programmable constant-current pulsecontroller is activated and constant-current electrical pulse is appliedto the plurality of needle electrodes. The applied constant-currentelectrical pulse facilitates the introduction of the biomolecule intothe cell between the plurality of electrodes. The entire content of U.S.Pat. No. 7,245,963 is hereby incorporated by reference.

U.S. Patent Pub. 2005/0052630 submitted by Smith, et al. describes anelectroporation device which may be used to effectively facilitate theintroduction of a biomolecule into cells of a selected tissue in a bodyor plant. The electroporation device comprises an electro-kinetic device(“EKD device”) whose operation is specified by software or firmware. TheEKD device produces a series of programmable constant-current pulsepatterns between electrodes in an array based on user control and inputof the pulse parameters, and allows the storage and acquisition ofcurrent waveform data. The electroporation device also comprises areplaceable electrode disk having an array of needle electrodes, acentral injection channel for an injection needle, and a removable guidedisk. The entire content of U.S. Patent Pub. 2005/0052630 is herebyincorporated by reference.

The electrode arrays and methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,245,963and U.S. Patent Pub. 2005/0052630 may be adapted for deep penetrationinto not only tissues such as muscle, but also other tissues or organs.Because of the configuration of the electrode array, the injectionneedle (to deliver the biomolecule of choice) is also insertedcompletely into the target organ, and the injection is administeredperpendicular to the target issue, in the area that is pre-delineated bythe electrodes The electrodes described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,245,963 andU.S. Patent Pub. 2005/005263 are preferably 20 mm long and 21 gauge.

Additionally, contemplated in some embodiments that incorporateelectroporation devices and uses thereof, there are electroporationdevices that are those described in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No.5,273,525 issued Dec. 28, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,161 issued Aug. 29,2000, U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,281 issued Jul. 17, 2001, and U.S. Pat. No.6,958,060 issued Oct. 25, 2005, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,862 issued Sep.6, 2005. Furthermore, patents covering subject matter provided in U.S.Pat. No. 6,697,669 issued Feb. 24, 2004, which concerns delivery of DNAusing any of a variety of devices, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,064 issuedFeb. 5, 2008, drawn to method of injecting DNA are contemplated herein.The above-patents are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

10. METHOD OF TREATMENT

Also provided herein is a method of treating, protecting against, and/orpreventing disease in a subject in need thereof by generating thesynthetic antibody in the subject. The method can include administeringthe composition to the subject. Administration of the composition to thesubject can be done using the method of delivery described above.

Upon generation of the synthetic antibody in the subject, the syntheticantibody can bind to or react with the antigen. Such binding canneutralize the antigen, block recognition of the antigen by anothermolecule, for example, a protein or nucleic acid, and elicit or inducean immune response to the antigen, thereby treating, protecting against,and/or preventing the disease associated with the antigen in thesubject.

The composition dose can be between 1 μg to 10 mg active component/kgbody weight/time, and can be 20 μg to 10 mg component/kg bodyweight/time. The composition can be administered every 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,26, 27, 28, 29, 30, or 31 days. The number of composition doses foreffective treatment can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10.

The present invention has multiple aspects, illustrated by the followingnon-limiting examples.

11. EXAMPLES

The present invention is further illustrated in the following Examples.It should be understood that these Examples, while indicating preferredembodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only.From the above discussion and these Examples, one skilled in the art canascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changesand modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages andconditions. Thus, various modifications of the invention in addition tothose shown and described herein will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are alsointended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Example 1

A high expression system for in vivo immunoglobulin (Ig) generation wasconstructed. In particular, Ig heavy and light chain sequences weremodified in order to improve in vivo expression of the fully assembledIg molecule, which included 2 heavy and 2 light chain polypeptides.Constructs of gp120IgG-heavy and light chain molecules were created andinserted separately in the pVAX1 vector (Life Technologies, Carlsbad,Calif.). This antibody has defined properties that allow it to be usedfor characterization studies as described below. Several modificationswere included when creating the constructs to optimize expression of theIg in vivo. Optimization included codon optimization and theintroduction of a kozak sequence (GCC ACC). The nucleic acid sequencesof the optimized constructs for the heavy and light chains of the Ig areset forth in SEQ ID NO:6 and SEQ ID NO:7, respectively (FIGS. 1 and 2,respectively). In FIGS. 1 and 2, underlining and double underling markthe BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTC GAG) restriction enzymes sites used toclone the constructs into the pVAX1 vector while bold marks the start(ATG) and stop (TGA TAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:6 encodes the amino acidsequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:46, i.e., the amino acid sequence of theIgG heavy chain (FIG. 42). SEQ ID NO:7 encodes the amino acid sequenceset forth in SEQ ID NO:47, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the IgGlight chain (FIG. 43).

Cells were transfected with either native Ig constructs (i.e., notoptimized) or constructs containing SEQ ID NOS:6 and 7 (i.e.,optimized). After transfection, IgG secretion was measured from thetransfected cells and the kinetics of IgG synthesis are shown in FIG. 3.As shown in FIG. 3, both the non-optimized and optimized constructsexpressed the heavy and light chains of the Ig to form IgG, but theoptimized constructs resulted in quicker accumulation of IgG antibody.Cells transfected with the plasmid containing SEQ ID NOS:6 and 7 (i.e.,optimized Ig sequences) showed greater production of fully assembled Igmolecules than did cells transfected with the plasmid containingnon-optimized Ig sequences. Accordingly, the optimization ormodification of the constructs substantially increased Ig expression. Inother words, the constructs containing SEQ ID NOS:6 and 7 providedsubstantially higher expression of Ig as compared to the nativeconstructs because of the optimization or modification used to createSEQ ID NOS:6 and 7. These data also demonstrated that the heavy andlight chains of an Ig can be efficiently assembled in vivo from aplasmid system.

To further examine the constructs containing SEQ ID NOS:6 and 7, micewere administered plasmid containing the sequences set forth in SEQ IDNOS:6 and 7. In particular, the plasmid was administered usingelectroporation. After administration, induction of immune response(i.e., IgG level) in the immunized mice was evaluated by Western Blot(i.e., sera from the mice was used to detect the gp120 antigen). Asshown in FIG. 4, mice administered the plasmid containing SEQ ID NOS:6and 7 resulted in strong antibody production because binding of theantibody was observed in the Western blot analysis. Only oneadministration was required to observe this antibody production.

In summary, these data indicated that nucleic acid sequences encoding Igheavy and light chains, when included in an expression vector such aspVAX1, resulted in the expression of assembled IgG (i.e., heavy andlight chains came together to form an antibody that bound its antigen)in transfected cells and mice administered the expression vector. Thesedata further indicated that optimization or modification of the nucleicacid sequences encoding the Ig heavy and light chains significantlyincreased Ig production.

Example 2 Materials and Methods for Examples 3-7

Cells and Reagents. 293T and TZM-Bl cells were maintained in Dulbecco'sModified Eagle's medium (DMEM; Gibco-Invitrogen, CA) supplemented with10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and antibiotics and passaged uponconfluence. Recombinant HIV-1 p24 and gp120 Env (rgp120) proteins wereacquired from Protein Science Inc. and peroxidase-conjugatedstreptavidin from Jackson Laboratory. Cell lines and other reagentslisted were obtained from the AIDS Research and Reference ReagentProgram, Division of AIDS, NIAID, NIH.

Animals and Protein and Plasmid Administration and Delivery. FemaleBALB/c mice (8 weeks of age) were purchased from Taconic Farms(Germantown, N.Y.). For these administrations, 25 μg of plasmid DNA in50 μl volume (pVax1 or pHIV-1Env-Fab) was injected intramuscularly (IM)followed by EP mediated enhanced delivery by the MID-EP system(CELLECTRA®; Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Blue Bell, Pa.). Pulsing parametersfor delivery were: 3 pulses of 0.5 Amp constant current, 1 second apartand 52 ms in length. Each animal received a single administration ofeither experimental or control plasmid formulations. For the proteinimmunization analysis, HIV-1 recombinant gp120 (rgp120) from the JRFLstrain (purchased from Immune Technology Corp, NY) was used. In theprotein immunization study, a single 25 μg dose of the rgp120 was mixedwith TiterMax adjuvant and injected subcutaneously. Sera from the pHIV-1Env Fab or rgp120-administered mice were collected at different timepoints depending on the particular analysis.

Construction of HIV-1Env-Fab Plasmid DNA. The HIV-1 Env-Fab sequences(VH and VL) from the anti-Env VRC01 human mAb were generated by use ofsynthetic oligonucleotides with several modifications. The heavy chain(VH-CH1) is encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:3, and the light chain (VL-CL) is encoded by the nucleic sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO:4 (FIGS. 9 and 10, respectively). In FIGS. 9 and 10,underlining and double underlining mark the HindIII (AAG CTT) and XhoI(CTC GAG) restriction enzyme sites used to clone the encoding nucleicacid sequences into pVAX1 while bold marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGAor TAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:3 encodes the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO:48, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the VH-CH1 of HIV-1Env-Fab (FIG. 44). SEQ ID NO:4 encodes the amino acid sequence set forthin SEQ ID NO:49, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the VL-CL of HIV-1Env-Fab (FIG. 45).

An efficient IgE leader sequence was incorporated into the Env antigengene sequences in order to improve expression. The resulting modifiedand enhanced HIV-1Env-Fab DNA immunogens were codon- and RNA-optimized,followed by cloning into the pVax1 expression vector by GenScript(Piscataway, N.J.), with subsequent large-scale production of theseconstructs. The VH and VL genes (SEQ ID NOs:3 and 4, respectively) wereinserted between the BamH1 and Xho1 restriction sites. Purified plasmidDNA was then formulated in water for subsequent administration intomice. As a negative control plasmid, pIgG-E1M2, which generates an“irrelevant”/control Ig, was used.

HIV-1Env-Fab Expression and Immunoblot Analysis. The 293T cell line wasutilized for expression analysis using the non-liposomal FuGENE6transfection reagent (Promega, Wis.), by methods as recommended by themanufacturer. Briefly, cells were seeded at 50-70% confluence (1-3×10⁵cells/2 mL per well in 35 mm culture dish) 24 hours before subsequenttransfection with 5 μg of the pVax1 control or pHIV-1Env-Fab.Supernatants were collected at various time points up to 70 hours andassessed for levels of specific Fab molecules by standard ELISA methods.Supernatants from pVax1 transfected cells were used as a negativecontrol. In addition, 293T cells were transfected with a gene for theHIV gp160 Env protein.

Further confirmation of recognition of native HIV-1 Env protein by thegenerated Fab was performed by immunoblot analysis. For this study,rgp120, described above, underwent electrophoresis on 12% SDS-PAGE. Thegel was blotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane (Millipore, Bedford,Mass.) and blocked with 5% w/v nonfat dry milk in PBS-T (0.05%). Thenitrocellulose was then subsequently cut into individual strips foranalysis. Sera from pHIV-1 Env Fab administered mice, collected 48 hoursafter administration, were diluted 1:100 in PBS and reacted withindividual nitrocellulose strips for 1 hour. Subsequently, strips werewashed 4 times with Tris-buffered saline-0.2% Tween, reacted with aperoxidase-coupled antiserum against mouse IgG (Jackson Laboratories,ME), and incubated with diaminobenzidine substrate (Sigma, St. Louis,Mo.), allowing for the visualization of proper binding of the generatedHIV-1 Env Fab to gp120.

Ig Binding Analysis—ELISA. Confirmation of binding of DNA plasmidgenerated Fab or anti-rgp120 antibody to rgp120 by ELISA was evaluated.Ig binding assays were carried out with sera from individual animalsadministered either pHIV-1 Env Fab, pVax1 or rgp120 protein. Again, forthis basic Ig immunoassay analysis, sera samples were collected 48 hoursafter the single DNA plasmid administration. Briefly, 96-wellhigh-binding polystyrene plates (Corning, N.Y.) plates were coatedovernight at 4° C. with clade B HIV MN rgp120 (2 μg/mL), diluted in PBS.The following day, plates were washed with PBS-T (PBS, 0.05% Tween 20),blocked for 1 hour with 3% BSA in PBS-T, and incubated with 1:100dilutions of serum from immunized and naïve mice for 1 hour at 37° C.Bound IgG was detected using goat anti-mouse IgG-HRP (ResearchDiagnostics, NJ) at a dilution of 1:5,000. Bound enzyme were detected bythe addition of the chromogen substrate solution TMB (R&D Systems), andread at 450 nm on a Biotek EL312e Bio-Kinetics reader. All sera sampleswere tested in duplicate. An additional immunoassay analysis wasperformed which quantified the Fab concentrations in sera from pHIV-1Env Fab administered mice using a commercial IgG1 quantitation ELISAkit. This analysis was performed by manufacturer's specifications.

Flow Cytometric Analysis (FACS). For flow cytometry analyses (FACS),293T cells were transfected with either a consensus clade A Env plasmid(pCon-Env-A) or an optimized clade A plasmid (pOpt-Env-A) expressing anEnv from a primary viral isolate (Q23Env17). Transfection was performedby standard methods. After confirmation of transfection, cells werewashed with ice-cold buffer A (PBS/0.1% BSA/0.01% NaN3) and incubatedfor 20 min at 4° C. with a 1:100 dilution of primary Ig (either purifiedVRC01 or sera from mice injected with either pHIV-1 Env Fab or controlpIgG-E1M2 plasmid, collected 48 hours after plasmid administration).This was followed by washing and incubation for another 20 min with 50μl of a 1:100 diluted fluorescent-labeled secondary Igs conjugated tophycoerythrin (PE). Cells were then washed and immediately analyzed on aflow cytometer (Becton Dickinson FACS). All incubations and washes wereperformed at 4° C. with ice-cold buffer A. Cells were gated on singletsand live cells. To assess GFP expression GFP-positive cells wasperformed with a FACS-LSR instrument using CellQuest software (BDBioscience). Data were analyzed with Flow Jo software.

Single-Cycle HIV-1 Neutralization Assay. Fab mediated HIV-1neutralization analysis was measured with a TZM-BI (HeLa cell derived)based assay in which a reduction in luciferase gene expression as usedas an endpoint for neutralization, following a single round of infectionwith Env-pseudotyped virus in the presence or absence of experimental orcontrol sera. The TZM-Bl cells were engineered to express CD4 and CCR5and contained reporter genes for firefly luciferase. In this assay, serafrom mice administered pVax1 only or pHIV-1Env Fab were diluted 1:50 inwells followed by addition of pseudotyped HIV-1 Bal26, Q23Env17, SF162Sor ZM53M cell free virus, at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.01.Both Bal26 and SF162S are clade B tier 1 viruses, with this tier statusindicating that the viruses had high or above average sensitivity toneutralization. Q23Env17 and ZM53M are clade A, Tier 1 and clade C, Tier2 viruses, respectively. Tier 2 status indicated that the virus hadaverage or moderate sensitivity to neutralization. Subsequently in thisassay, 10⁴ TZM-BL cells were added to each well, incubated for 48 hours,lysed and followed by subsequent addition of 100 μl of Bright-Glosubstrate (Luciferase Assay System, Promega, Wis.), followed byluciferase quantitation using a luminometer. The readout of this assaywas RLU (relative light units). The percentages of RLU reduction werecalculated as (1−(mean RLU of experimental samples−controls)/mean RLUfrom controls-no addition control wells))×100. HIV-1 neutralization wasthen expressed as percent decrease in RLU, which was indicative of thepercent inhibition of infection.

Example 3 Generation of Anti-HIV-1 Env-Fab Expressing Constructs

The cDNAs for both the VH and VL-Ig (immunoglobulin) chains codingsequences for the anti-HIV-1 Envelope broadly neutralizing human mAbVRC01 were obtained from the VRC (Vaccine Research Center, NIH) throughthe NIH AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program and subsequentlycloned into a pVax1 vector. Several modifications, as indicated inExample 2 above, were incorporated into the expression vectors in orderto maximize and optimize the production of biologically active Igmolecules. Specifically, these modifications included codon and RNAoptimization and stabilization, enhanced leader sequence utilization,plasmid production at high concentrations and facilitated in vivoplasmid delivery through EP. The constructs generated were placed underthe control of an immediate early promoter from the humancytomegalovirus (CMV), which is important for proper and efficientexpression in mammalian cells and tissues. The schematic maps of theconstruct used in this study are indicated in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

Additionally, anti-HIV-1 Env Fab was prepared from pHIV-Env-Fab and usedto stain cells transfected with a plasmid encoding HIV Env. pVAX1 wasused as a control. As shown in FIG. 11, immunofluorescence stainingdemonstrated that the vector pHIV-Env-Fab allowed for the preparation ofanti-HIV-1 Env Fab because the anti-HIV-1 Env Fab stained the cellstransfected with the plasmid encoding HIV Env. Accordingly, theanti-HIV-1 Env Fab was specific for binding to the HIV Env glycoprotein.

Example 4 Ig Production by Transfected Cells

To evaluate the expression of pHIV-1Env-Fab, the constructs weretransfected into 293T cells. An ELISA immunoassay, using a consensusHIV-1 clade B gp120 protein, confirmed the presence of the anti-HIV-1Env-Fab in the supernatant from the transfected 293 T cells as early as24 hours post transfection (FIG. 5C). High OD450 nm values (i.e. rangingfrom approximately 0.5 to 0.8) were detected in cell extracts from 24 to72 hours post transfection and subsequently reached a peak and plateauat 48 hours. These results confirmed the specificity of the anti-HIV-1Env Fab for the HIV Env glycoprotein. Statistical analysis of the datapresented in FIG. 5C was as follows: OD450 nm values for sera frompHIV-1 Env-Fab injected mice were significant (p<0.05, student t test)compared to pVax1 control from the 22 through 72 hour time pointsmeasurements.

Example 5 In Vivo Characterization of HIV-1 Env Fab

To demonstrate in vivo Fab production from the DNA plasmids, mice wereadministered the pHIV-1 Env Fab by the intramuscular route followed byenhanced delivery through EP. A single injection of the DNA plasmids wasdelivered and sera was collected at 12 hours and at days 1, 2, 3, 4 7and 10 following administration. Sera (at a dilution of 1:100 dilution)were then subsequently evaluated for Ig/Fab levels by ELISA analysis, asshown in FIG. 6A. Data in FIG. 6A are presented (from individual mice inboth the pVax1 and HIV-1 Env-Fab groups) as OD450 nm, which wasproportional to the level of Ig/Fab. These data demonstrated that therelative levels of Fab after single administration of pHIV-1Env-Fabbecame detectable on day 1 and subsequently increased over time. Forcomparative purposes, a single administration/immunization of rgp120, asdescribed above in Example 2, was made into Balb/C mice with subsequentsera collection and analysis (at 1:100 dilution) over time by ELISA inorder to determine the extent and longevity of specific anti-gp120antibody levels. FIG. 6B show the results.

In this protein delivery study, antigen specific Ig levels overbackground were only detectable 10 days after immunization. This was incontrast to the Fab levels elicited by pHIV-1 Env Fab administration(FIG. 6A) where OD450 nm values attained at least 0.1 OD450 nm units byday 1 post administration and plateaued at day 10 at levels between 0.28and 0.35 OD units. Therefore, the delivery of pHIV-1 Env Fab resulted ina more rapid generation of specific Fab than conventional proteinimmunization. This finding underscored the potential clinical utility ofthis DNA plasmid delivery method for generation of biologically activeIg.

Additional analyses were performed to ensure the quality as well asquantity of the recombinant Fab produced by the DNA delivery technology.Specifically, immunoblot analysis was performed using electrophoresedand blotted recombinant HIV-1 gp120 protein and probed with sera frompHIV-1Env-Fab mice 48 hours post administration (FIG. 6C). The blotindicated a band appropriate for the molecular weight of gp120 proteinconfirming that it was functional and able to bind to gp120. Likewise,human Fab quantitation, by ELISA, was performed and presented as afunction of time (i.e. days) after plasmid administration (FIG. 6D). Theresults indicate that the levels of Fab generated peaked at 2-3 μg/ml.These results demonstrated the correct polypeptide assembly of the VHand VL chains of the generated VRC01 based Fab, as well as the abilityto recognize and bind specifically to the HIV-1 Env protein.

Statistical analyses of the presented data in FIG. 6 are as follows. Fordata summarized in FIG. 6A, OD450 nm values for the sera from the pHIV-1Env-Fab injected mice were statistically elevated (p<0.05, student ttest) compared to the sera from pVax1 injected mice from the days 1through 10 measurement time points. For data summarized in FIG. 6B,OD450 nm values from the rpg120 group were significantly elevated(p<0.05, student t test) compared to PBS control from the day 10 through14 time point measurements. For data summarized in FIG. 6D, OD450 nmvalues from pHIV-1 Env-Fab injected mice were significantly elevated(p<0.05, student t test) from the day 2 through 10 time pointmeasurements.

Example 6 Binding of Fab/Igs to Cells Expressing Different HIV-1 EnvProteins: FACS Based Analysis

Sera from the mice administered pHIV-1Env-Fab were also used to testbinding of the generated Fab to different HIV-Env proteins transientlyexpressed by 293T cells. The native form of the VRC01-mAb was used as apositive control, to ensure proper expression and detection of the Envproteins on the surface of the cells. As indicated earlier, the“irrelevant/unrelated” Ig (Ig-E1M2) was used as a negative control. Asdemonstrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, there was essentially only backgroundstaining by different Igs/Fabs to pVax1 (i.e. lacking the Env insert)transfected cells. However, for both the purified VRC01 mAb and serafrom pHIV-1Env-Fab administered mice there was significant positivestaining of transfected cells expressing either the consensus clade AEnv plasmid (pCon-Env-A) as well as an optimized clade C plasmid(pOpt-Env-A) expressing and Env from the primary HIV-1 isolatepQ23Env17. Moreover, sera from pIg-E1M2 administered mice failed todemonstrate staining of any of the HIV1 Env transfected cells abovebackground levels. FACS analysis indicating these results are providedin FIG. 7A. A representative graph showing the data from the FACSanalysis (i.e., FIG. 7A) for this experiment was provided in FIG. 7B.

Statistical analyses of data presented in FIG. 7B are as follows. Therewas no significant difference (p<0.05, student t test) in specificbinding between native VRC01 antibody and sera from pHIV-1 Env-Fabinjected mice to the envelope glycoprotein generated by pCon-Env-A.However, binding of VRC01 antibody to the envelope glycoproteingenerated by pOpt-Env-A was significantly higher (p<0.05, student ttest) than binding by sera from pHIV-1 Env-Fab injected mice.

Example 7 HIV Neutralizing Activity of Ig Produced by pHIV-1 Env Fab

Sera from mice administered pHIV-1Env-Fab were used to test binding ofthe HIV-Env Fab to HIV-1 Env proteins expressed in transientlytransfected to 293T cells. Sera was obtained from the mice 6 days afteradministration of pHIV-1Env-Fab. Specifically, cells were transfectedwith a plasmid from which HIV-1 Env from a Clade A, B or C strain wasexpressed. The clade A, B, and C strains were 92RW020, SF162, and ZM197.As shown in FIG. 12, sera from mice administered pHIV-1Env-Fab bound theHIV-1 Env from the clade A, B, and C HIV-1 strains, thereby indicatingthat the sera contained an antibody (i.e., HIV-Env Fab) that wascross-reactive with HIV-1 Env from multiple subtypes of HIV-1.

In order to assess the potential HIV-1 neutralizing activity of theHIV-Env Fab produced in this study, a luminescence based neutralizationassay based using TZM-Bl target cells was performed. The TZM-Bl targetcells were infected with the 4 different pseudotyped HIV viral isolatesin the absence or presence of the experimental sera and control, asdescribed in Example 2 above.

FIG. 8 depicts the neutralization curves for sera from pHIV-1 Env Fabinjected mice against the HIV pseudotyped viruses. Specifically testedwere the HIV-1 tier 1 viruses Bal26 and SF162S (both clade B), as wellas Q23Env (clade A). In addition, sera were also tested against theHIV-1 clade C tier 2 virus ZM53M. The data are presented as percentneutralization/inhibition of HIV infection. The hatched horizontal linesin the graphs indicated the 50% neutralization/inhibition level in theassay. A positive neutralization control mAb (data not shown) wasutilized in this study to confirm the utility and validity of this assaymethod. Briefly, the positive control neutralizing mAb was able toinhibit infection of the all four of the viral pseudotypes by at least50%.

Sera from the pHIV-1 Env Fab administered mice demonstrated an increasein HIV neutralizing activity over time following plasmid administration,with percent neutralization reaching at 50% by Day 2 for Bal25, Q23Env17and SF162S. As well plateau percent neutralization for these 3 viruseswas approximately 62, 60 and 70%, respectively. For the ZM53M, the 50%neutralization threshold was not reached until 3 days and plateauneutralization did not exceed 50%. This less robust neutralizationprofile, compared to the other 3 tested, was likely reflective of itbeing a less neutralizable Tier 2 virus. In sum, the Fab generated inthis study was able to effectively neutralize a range of HIV isolates.Statistical analyses of data presented in FIG. 8 are as follows. Basedon Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric analysis, only HIV neutralizationlevels for the ZM53M Clade C virus (FIG. 8D), induced by sera frompHIV-1 Env-Fab injected mice, was significantly different from the otherviruses tested (FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C). This difference was in time(days) required to achieve 50% neutralization as well as in themaximally attained level of neutralization.

In summary of Examples 3-7, the sera concentration of VRC01 Fab inpHIV-1 Env Fab administered mice peaked at 2-3 μg/mL at day 12post-injection. This range was comparable to a number of monoclonalantibodies currently licensed by the FDA, indicating that our antibodyapproach produced significant and biologically relevant levels ofantibodies in this small animal model. In particular, Ustekinumab (tradename: Stelara) and Golimumab (Simponi), two antibodies indicated for useagainst autoimmune diseases such as plaque psoriasis and arthritis, havemean±SD serum concentrations of 0.31±0.33 μg/mL and 1.8±1.1m/mL,respectively. Furthermore, the TNF inhibitor Adalimumab (Humira) has amean rough serum concentration of around 6 μg/mL. In this regard, thedata described in Examples 4-8 demonstrated that delivery of DNAencoding the antibody to the organism resulted in the being assembled invivo such that significant and biologically relevant levels of theantibody were present in the organism.

These data also demonstrated the ability to more rapidly produce Fabs invivo, after a single EP enhanced administration of pHIV-1Env Fab,compared to Igs produced by conventional protein administration (FIGS.6A and 6B). In addition, the ability to generate functional protectiveIg-like molecules against difficult vaccine targets was addressed. Todate, inducing HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies following activevaccination has been incredibly difficult, and during primary infection,neutralizing antibodies do not develop until years after transmission.With this DNA plasmid approach, neutralization titers were observedwithin 1-2 days post delivery with peak neutralizing Fab seraconcentrations (3.31±0.13 μg/mL) occurring one-week post-administration(FIG. 6D). This level of Ig was relatively similar to the 8.3 μg/mLconcentration that has been demonstrated to provide complete protectionfrom infection in a recent study. These data demonstrated the rapidinduction of biologically active Ig fragments.

These data also showed the neutralizing antibody titer and the responsesagainst HIV-1 primary isolates that were elicited by HIV-1Env-Fab DNAadministration. Sera were tested against a panel of different viral tier1, and 2 viral isolates that represent examples from clades A, B and C.The results indicated generation of potent neutralizing activity againstthese viruses (FIG. 8).

Accordingly, this DNA plasmid-based method generated specific andbiologically active Fab or Ig molecules in vivo, bypassed the need touse conventional antigen-based vaccination for antibody generation, andobviated the need to generate and purify Igs made in vitro.

Example 8 Construction of a Plasmid Encoding a Human Ig Antibody

As described above, a Fab was generated from the VRC01 antibody, namelyHIV-Env Fab, which was generated in vivo upon administration of theencoding nucleic acid to the subject. To further extend these studies,nucleic acid sequence was created that encoded an IgG1 antibody derivedfrom the VRC01 antibody. As shown in the schematic in FIG. 13, thisnucleic acid sequence encoded IgG heavy and light chains separated by afurin cleavage site and a nucleic acid sequence encoding P2A peptidesequence. The P2A peptide sequence increases the efficiency of cleavageby the protease, thereby resulting in discrete polypeptides aftercleavage.

The IgG heavy chain included the variable heavy (VH), constant heavy 1(CH1), hinge, constant heavy 2 (CH2), and constant heavy 3 (CH3)regions. The IgG light chain included the variable light (VL) andconstant light (CL) regions. This construct was placed under the controlof a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter, for example, in the expressionvector pVAX1. This construct resulted in the production of fullyassembled IgG antibody (as shown in FIG. 14) that was reactive gp120(i.e., the antigen recognized by the VRC01 antibody). This fullyassembled IgG is referred to herein as VRC01 IgG. The amino acidsequence of the VRC01 IgG (before cleavage by furin) is shown in FIG. 15and is set forth in SEQ ID NO:5.

In particular, the amino acid sequence of the VRC01 IgG (before cleavageby furin; SEQ ID NO:5 and FIG. 15) has the following structure: animmunoglobulin E1 (IgE1) signal peptide, variable heavy region (VH),constant heavy region 1 (CH1), hinge region, constant heavy region 2(CH2), constant heavy region 3 (CH3), furin cleavage site, GSG linker,P2A peptide, IgE1 signal peptide, variable light region (VL), andconstant light region (CL, specifically kappa). The sequence of eachportion of the structure (all which are contained within SEQ ID NO:15 inthe order described above and shown in FIG. 13) is provided below.

IgE1 Signal Peptide of VRC-1 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 8) MDWTWILFLVAAATRVHS.Variable Heavy Region of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 9)QVQLVQSGGQMKKPGESMRISCRASGYEFIDCTLNWIRLAPGKRPEWMGWLKPRGGAVNYARPLQGRVTMTRDVYSDTAFLELRSLTVDDTAVYFCTRGKNCDYNWDF EHWGRGTPVIVSSPSTKG.Constant Heavy region 1 (CH1) of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 10)PSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFPEPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLG TQTYICNVNHKPSNTKVDKKAEPKSC.Hinge Region of VRC01 IgG (SEQ ID NO: 11) EPKSCDKT HTCPPCP.Constant Heavy Region 2 (CH2) of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 12)APELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISK AK.Constant Heavy Region 3 (CH3) of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 13)GQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDK SRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGKFurin Cleavage Site of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 14) RGRKRRS.GSG Linker and P2A Peptide of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 15)GSGATNFSLLKQAGDVEENPGP. IgE1 Signal Peptide of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 8)MDWTWILFLVAAATRVHS. Variable Light Region (VL) of VRC01 IgG-(SEQ ID NO: 16) EIVLTQSPGTLSLSPGETAIISCRTSQYGSLAWYQQRPGQAPRLVIYSGSTRAAGIPDRFSGSRWGPDYNLTIS NLESGDFGVYYCQQYEFFGQGTKVQVDIKR.Constant Light Region (CL, kappa) of VRC01 IgG- (SEQ ID NO: 17)TVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWKVDNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLT LSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLRSPVTKSFNRGEC.

Example 9 HIV-1 VRC01 IgG Encoded by Two Plasmids

As described above in Examples 2-8, a Fab (each chain expressed from aseparate plasmid) was generated from the VRC01 antibody, namely HIV-EnvFab, and an IgG (expressed from a single plasmid) was generated from theVRC01 antibody, namely VRC01 IgG. To further extend these studies, anIgG was generated from the VRC01 antibody, in which the heavy chain(i.e., variable heavy region (VH), constant heavy region 1 (CH1), hingeregion, constant heavy region 2 (CH2), and constant heavy region 3(CH3)) and the light chain (i.e., variable light region (VL) andconstant light region (CL)) were encoded by separate constructs (FIGS.50 and 51). This IgG is referred to herein as HIV-1 VRC01 IgG.

Each construct also included a leader sequence for optimizing secretionof the antibody once generated in vivo. Each construct was cloned intothe BamHI and XhoI sites of the pVAX1 vector, thereby placing theconstruct under the control of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter (FIGS.50 and 51). Accordingly, to form or generate the VRC01 IgG in vivo amixture of plasmids has to be administered to the subject, namely aplasmid containing the construct encoding the heavy chain and a plasmidcontaining the construct encoding the light chain.

Additionally, each construct was further optimized. Optimizationincluded addition of a kozak sequence (GCC ACC) and codon optimization.The nucleic acid sequence encoding the IgG1 heavy chain of the HIV-1VRC01 IgG is set forth in SEQ ID NO:54 and FIG. 52. In FIG. 52,underlining and double underling mark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTCGAG) restriction enzyme sites used to clone the nucleic acid sequenceinto the pVAX1 vector while bold marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGATAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:54 encodes the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO:55 and FIG. 53, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the IgG1heavy chain of the HIV-1 VRC01 IgG.

The nucleic acid sequence encoding the IgG light chain of the HIV-1VRC01 IgG is set forth in SEQ ID NO:56 and FIG. 54. In FIG. 54,underlining and double underling mark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTCGAG) restriction enzyme sites used to clone the nucleic acid sequenceinto the pVAX1 vector while bold marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGATAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:56 encodes the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO:57 and FIG. 55, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the IgG lightchain of the HIV-1 VRC01 IgG.

Example 10 HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig

In addition to VRC01 IgG, another construct was created that encoded IgGthat was reactive to HIV-1 Env. This construct was HIV-1 Env-PG9, whichwas optimized and cloned into an expression vector (FIGS. 16A and 16B).Optimization included introduction of a kozak sequence (e.g., GCC ACC),a leader sequence, and codon optimization. Creation of the expressionvector containing the nucleic acid sequence encoding HIV-1 Env-PG9 Igwas confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion as shown in FIG. 16C. InFIG. 16C, lane 1 was undigested expression vector, lane 2 was theexpression vector digested with BamHI and Xho1, and lane M was theMarker.

The nucleic acid sequence encoding HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig is set forth in SEQID NO:63 and FIG. 61. In FIG. 61, underlining and double underliningmark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTC GAG) restriction enzyme sitesused to clone the nucleic acid sequence into the pVAX1 vector while boldmarks the start (ATG) and stop (TGA TAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:63 encodesthe amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 and FIG. 18, i.e., theamino acid sequence of HIV-1 ENv-PG9 Ig (before cleavage by furin).

In this amino acid sequence, a signal peptide is linked by peptide bondto each of the heavy and light chains to improve secretion of theantibody generated in vivo. Additionally, a nucleic acid sequenceencoding the P2A peptide is located between the nucleic acid sequencesencoding the heavy and light chains to allow for more efficient cleavageof the translated polypeptide into separate polypeptides containing theheavy or light chain.

In particular, the amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig (beforecleavage by furin; SEQ ID NO:2 and FIG. 18) has the following structure:human IgG heavy chain signal peptide, variable heavy region (VH),constant heavy region 1 (CH1), hinge region, constant heavy region 2(CH2), constant heavy region 3 (CH3), furin cleavage site, GSG linker,P2A peptide, human lambda light chain signal peptide, variable lightregion (VL), and constant light region (CL, specifically lambda). Thesequence of each portion of the structure (all which are containedwithin SEQ ID NO:2 in the order described above) is provided below.

Human IgG Heavy Chain Signal Peptide of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig-(SEQ ID NO: 18) MDWTWRILFLVAAATGTHA. Variable Heavy Region of HIV-1Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 19) EFGLSWVFLVAFLRGVQCQRLVESGGGVVQPGSSLRLSCAASGFDFSRQGMHWVRQAP GQGLEWVAFIKYDGSEKYHADSVWGRLSISRDNSKDTLYLQMNSLRVEDTATYFCVRE AGGPDYRNGYNYYDFYDGYYNYHYMDVWG KGTTVTVSS.Constant Heavy region 1 (CH1) of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 20)ASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLV KDYFPEPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNH KPSNTKVDKRV.Hinge Region of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 21) EPKSCDKTHTCPPCP.Constant Heavy Region 2 (CH2) of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 22)APELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEV TCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGK EYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAK.Constant Heavy Region 3 (CH3) of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 23)GQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLV KGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSV MHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK.Furin Cleavage Site of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 24) RGRKRRS.GSG Linker and P2A Peptide of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 25)GSGATNFSLLKQAGDVEENPGP. Human Lamba Light Chain SignalPeptide of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 26) MAWTPLFLFLLTCCPGGSNS.Variable Light Region (VL) of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 27)QSALTQPASVSGSPGQSITISCNGTSNDVG GYESVSWYQQHPGKAPKVVIYDVSKRPSGVSNRFSGSKSGNTASLTISGLQAEDEGDYYC KSLTSTRRRVFGTGTKLTVL.Constant Light Region (CL, lamba) of HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 28)GQPKAAPSVTLFPPSSEELQANKATLVCLI SDFYPGAVTVAWKADSSPVKAGVETTTPSKQSNNKYAASSYLSLTPEQWKSHKSYSCQVT HEGSTVEKTVAPTECS.

Example 11 HIV-1 PG9 Single Chain Fab (scFab)

In addition to HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig described above, a single chain Fab(i.e., VH/CH1 and VL/CL encoded by a nucleic sequence that istranscribed into a single transcript and translated into a singlepolypeptide) was created based upon the PG9 antibody (referred to hereinas HIV-1 PG9 scFab). The nucleic acid sequence encoding HIV-1 PG9 scFabis set forth in SEQ ID NO:50 and FIG. 46. In FIG. 46, underlining anddouble underlining mark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTC GAG) that wereused to clone this nucleic acid sequence into the pVAX1 vector whilebold marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGA TAA) codons. The nucleic acidsequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:50 was an optimized nucleic acidsequence, i.e., inclusion of a kozak sequence (GCC ACC), codonoptimization, and leader sequence. The leader sequence was located atthe 5′ end of the construct, i.e., preceding the single chain Fab, andthus, the signal peptide encoded by the linker sequence was linked by apeptide bond to the amino terminus of the single chain Fab. The nucleicacid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:50 also included a linker sequencethat was positioned between the nucleic acid sequence encoding theVH/CH1 and the nucleic acid sequence encoding the VL/CL. Accordingly, inthe polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:50, the amino acid sequence encodedby the linker sequence kept the VH/CH1 and VL/CL together. SEQ ID NO:50encoded the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:51 and FIG. 47,i.e., the amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 PG9 scFab.

Example 12 HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig

In addition to VRC01 IgG and HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig, another construct wascreated that encoded IgG that was reactive to HIV-1 Env. This constructwas HIV-1 Env-4E10, which was optimized and cloned into an expressionvector (FIGS. 17A and 17B). Optimization included introduction of akozak sequence (e.g., GCC ACC), a leader sequence, and codonoptimization. Creation of the expression vector containing the nucleicacid sequence encoding HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig was confirmed by restrictionenzyme digestion as shown in FIG. 17C. In FIG. 17C, lane 1 wasundigested expression vector, lane 2 was the expression vector digestedwith BamHI and Xho1, and lane M was the Marker.

The nucleic acid sequence encoding HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig is set forth in SEQID NO:62 and FIG. 60. In FIG. 60, underlining and double underliningmark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTC GAG) restriction enzyme sitesused to clone the nucleic acid sequence into the pVAX1 vector while boldmarks the start (ATG) and stop (TGA TAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:62 encodesthe amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 and FIG. 19, i.e., theamino acid sequence of HIV-1 ENv-4E10 Ig (before cleavage by furin).

In this amino acid sequence, a signal peptide is linked by peptide bondto each of the heavy and light chains to improve secretion of theantibody generated in vivo. Additionally, a nucleic acid sequenceencoding the P2A peptide is located between the nucleic acid sequencesencoding the heavy and light chains to allow for more efficient cleavageof the translated polypeptide into separate polypeptides containing theheavy or light chain.

In particular, the amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig (beforecleavage by furin; SEQ ID NO:1 and FIG. 19) has the following structure:human IgG heavy chain signal peptide, variable heavy region (VH),constant heavy region 1 (CH1), hinge region, constant heavy region 2(CH2), constant heavy region 3 (CH3), furin cleavage site, GSG linker,P2A peptide, human kappa light chain signal peptide, variable lightregion (VL), and constant light region (CL, specifically kappa). Thesequence of each portion of the structure (all which are containedwithin SEQ ID NO:1 in the order described above) is provided below.

Human IgG Heavy Chain Signal Peptide of HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig-(SEQ ID NO: 29) MDWTWRILFLVAAATGTHA. Variable Heavy Region of HIV-1Env-4E10 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 30) QVQLVQSGAEVKRPGSSVTVSCKASGGSFSTYALSWVRQAPGRGLEWMGGVIPLLTITNYAPRFQGRITITADRSTSTAYLELNSLRPEDTAVYYCAREGTTGWGWLG KPIGAFAHWGQGTLVTVSS.Constant Heavy region 1 (CH1) of HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 31)ASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFPEPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVP SSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNTKVDKKV.Hinge Region of HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 32) EPKSCDKTHTCPPCP.Constant Heavy Region 2 (CH2) of HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 33)APELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVD VSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTI SKAK. Constant Heavy Region 3 (CH3)of HIV-1 Env-4EI0 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 34)GQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPS DIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSP GK. Furin Cleavage Site of HIV-1Env-4E 10 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 35) RGRKRRS. GSG Linker and P2A Peptide ofHIV-1 Env-4EI0 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 36) GSGATNFSLLKQAGDVEENPGP.Human Kappa Light Chain Signal Peptide of HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig-(SEQ ID NO: 37) MVLQTQVFISLLLWISGAYG. Variable Light Region (VL)of HIV-1 Env-4EI0 Ig- (SEQ ID NO: 38) EIVLTQSPGTQSLSPGERATLSCRASQSVGNNKLAWYQQRPGQAPRLLIYGASSRPSGVADRFSGSGS GTDFTLTISRLEPEDFAVYYCQQYGQSLSTFGQGTKVE. Constant Light Region (CL, kappa) of HIV-1 Env-4E10 Ig-(SEQ ID NO: 39) KRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWKVDNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDST YSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQGLSSPVTKSFNRGE.

Example 13 HIV-1 4E10 ScFab

In addition to HIV-1 Env-PG9 Ig described above, a single chain Fab(i.e., VH/CH1 and VL/CL encoded by a nucleic sequence that istranscribed into a single transcript and translated into a singlepolypeptide) was created based upon the 4E10 antibody (referred toherein as HIV-1 4E10 scFab). The nucleic acid sequence encoding HIV-14E10 scFab is set forth in SEQ ID NO:52 and FIG. 48. In FIG. 48,underlining and double underlining mark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI(CTC GAG) that were used to clone this nucleic acid sequence into thepVAX1 vector while bold marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGA TAA) codons.The nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:52 was an optimizednucleic acid sequence, i.e., inclusion of a kozak sequence (GCC ACC),codon optimization, and leader sequence. The leader sequence was locatedat the 5′ end of the construct, i.e., preceding the single chain Fab,and thus, the signal peptide encoded by the linker sequence was linkedby a peptide bond to the amino terminus of the single chain Fab. Thenucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:52 also included a linkersequence that was positioned between the nucleic acid sequence encodingthe VH/CH1 and the nucleic acid sequence encoding the VL/CL.Accordingly, in the polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:52, the amino acidsequence encoded by the linker sequence kept the VH/CH1 and VL/CLtogether. SEQ ID NO:52 encoded the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQID NO:53 and FIG. 49, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the HIV-1 4E10scFab.

Example 14 CHIKV-Env-Fab

As described above, an Fab reactive to HIV-1 Env was assembled orgenerated in vivo upon delivery of the nucleic acid sequences encodingthe heavy (VH-CH1) and light (VL-CL) chains of HIV-1Env Fab to the cellor mouse. To determine if Fabs reactive to other antigens could begenerated in vivo upon delivery of encoding nucleic acid sequences tothe cell or subject, constructs were created that encoded the heavy(VH-CH1) and light (VL-CL, lambda type) chains of an antibody reactiveto an envelope protein (Env) of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV).Generation of these constructs are described here in Example 14 and alsobelow in Examples 17 and 18

Each construct included a leader sequence and a kozak sequence as shownin FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 21. The constructs encoding the VH-CH1 and VL-CLwere cloned into an expression vector and thus, placed under the controlof the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter (FIG. 21). The expression vectorscontaining the constructs encoding the VH-CH1 and VL-CL were known asCHIKV-H and CHIV-L, respectively. Together, a mixture of the CHIKV-H andCHIKV-L vectors was known as pCHIKV-Env-Fab and this generatedCHIKV-Env-Fab in vivo (i.e., upon introduction into a cell or subject).In other words, both vectors were required to generate the CHIKV-Env-Fabin vivo as described in more detail below.

The constructs were also optimized for expression. In particular, aleader sequence was included in each construct to increase theefficiency of secretion of the CHIKV-Env-Fab upon generation of theCHIKV-Env-Fab in vivo. Each construct was also codon optimized andincluded a kozak sequence (GCC ACC). The nucleic acid sequence encodingthe heavy chain (VH-CH1) of the CHIKV-Env-Fab is set forth in SEQ IDNO:58 and FIG. 56. In FIG. 56, underlining and double underling mark theBamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTC GAG) restriction enzyme sites used toclone the nucleic acid sequence into the pVAX1 vector while bold marksthe start (ATG) and stop (TGA TAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:58 encodes theamino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:59 and FIG. 57, i.e., theamino acid sequence of the heavy chain (VH-CH1) of the CHIKV-Env-Fab.

The nucleic acid sequence encoding the light chain (VL-CL) of theCHIKV-Env-Fab is set forth in SEQ ID NO:60 and FIG. 58. In FIG. 58,underlining and double underling mark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTCGAG) restriction enzyme sites used to clone the nucleic acid sequenceinto the pVAX1 vector while bold marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGATAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:60 encodes the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO:61 and FIG. 59, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the lightchain (VL-CL) of the CHIKV-Env-Fab.

To measure the temporal kinetics of CHIKV-Env-Fab generation in vivo,cells were transfected with pVAX1, CHIKV-H, CHIKV-L, or pCHIKV-Env-Fab.After transfection, ELISA was used to measure the level of CHIKV-Env-Fabgeneration over time. As shown in FIG. 22, cells transfected with pVAX1,CHIKV-H, or CHIKV-L did not produce antibody that was reactive with theCHIKV Env antigen. In contrast, cells transfected with pCHIKV-Env-Fabproduced antibody (i.e., CHIKV-Env-Fab, also known as CHIKV-Fab) thatwas reactive to the CHIKV Env antigen. Accordingly, these data indicatedthat delivery of nucleic acid sequences encoding the heavy (VH-CH1) andlight (VL-CL) of the CHIKV-Env-Fab resulted in the generation of a Fabthat bound or was reactive to the CHIKV-Env antigen.

Additionally, CHIKV-Env-Fab was used in a Western blot of lysatesobtained from cells transfected with pCHIKV-Env, which is a plasmid thatencodes the CHIKV-Env antigen. As shown in the FIG. 23, the CHIKV-Envantigen was detected via the CHIKV-Env-Fab, indicating that this Fabbound to the antigen.

To further examine the generation or assembly of CHIKV-Env-Fab in vivo,mice were administered pCHIKV-Env-Fab (i.e., 12.5 μg CHIKV-H and 12.5 μgCHIKV-L). Additionally, a second, third, and fourth group of mice wereadministered 25 μg pVAX1, CHIKV-H, and CHIKV-L, respectively, and servedas controls. Specifically, the plasmids were administered to therespective groups of mice on day 0 after obtaining a pre-bleed sample.Bleeds were taken on day 1, day 2, day 3, day 5, day 7, and day 10 (FIG.24). ELISA measurements were performed on these bleeds to determine thelevels of antibody reactive to the CHIKV-Env antigen. As shown in FIG.25, mice administered pCHIKV-Env-Fab resulted in the generation ofantibody (i.e., CHIKV-Env-Fab) that was reactive to the CHIKV-Envantigen. Mice administered pVAX1, CHIKV-H or CHIKV-L did not generateantibodies having significant reactivity with the CHIKV-Env antigen.Accordingly, these data further demonstrated that upon delivery ofnucleic acid sequences encoding the heavy (VH-CH1) and light (VL-CL)chains of the CHIKV-Env-Fab, this Fab was generated in vivo (i.e., inthe mice) and was reactive to its antigen (i.e., CHIKV-Env), therebydemonstrating that the Fab was correctly assembled in vivo.

To determine if the CHIKV-Env-Fab could protect against CHIKV infection,C57BL/6 mice (2-3 weeks of age; about 20-25 grams in weight) wereadministered on day 0 pCHIKV-Env-Fab (50 μg) or pVAX1. 6 hours afteradministration of pCHIKV-Env-Fab, each mouse was inoculated with 7 log10 PFU in a total volume of 25 μl by an intranasal route. Eachsubsequent day, body weight was determined for each mouse and a mousewas sacrificed if weight loss was more than 30%.

As shown in FIG. 26, about 75% of the mice administered pCHIKV-Env-Fabsurvived CHIKV infection as of day 14 of study while by day 14, all ofmice that were administered pVAX1 were dead. Additionally, miceadministered pCHIKV-Env-Fab were associated with lower levels of thecytokines TNF-α and IL-6 as compared to the mice administered pVAX1(FIGS. 27 and 28). TNF-α and IL-6 levels were measured in sera obtainedfrom the mice. These surviving mice exhibited no signs of pathology,body weight loss, and had lower levels of the cytokines TNF-α and IL-6.Accordingly, these data indicated that the pCHIKV-Env-Fab administrationprotected the mice from CHIKV infection and promoted survival of CHIKVinfection. In other words, in vivo generation of CHIKV-Env-Fab in themice protected against and promoted survival of CHIKV infection.

Example 15 Anti-Her-2 Fab

As described above, an Fab (i.e., VH/CH1 and VL/CL) reactive to HIV-1Env or CHIKV Env was assembled or generated in vivo upon delivery of thenucleic acid sequences encoding the heavy (VH-CH1) and light (VL-CL)chains of the HIV-1Env Fab or CHIKV Env-Fab to the cell or mouse. Todetermine if Fabs reactive to a self antigen (i.e., an antigenendogenous to the subject being administered the nucleic acid sequencesencoding the Fab) could be generated in vivo upon delivery of encodingnucleic acid sequences to the cell or subject, constructs were createdthat encoded the heavy (VH-CH1) and light (VL-CL, kappa type) chains ofan antibody reactive to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her-2;also known as Erb2). Each construct included a leader sequence and akozak sequence (GCC ACC), which preceded the nucleic acid sequenceencoding the VH-CH1 or VL-CL of the anti-Her-2 Fab as shown in FIGS. 28,30, and 31. Accordingly, these constructs were optimized due to theintroduction of the leader sequence and kozak sequence, and were furtheroptimized for codon usage.

The constructs encoding the VH-CH1 and VL-CL were cloned into the pVAX1expression vector, namely between the BamHI and XhoI restriction sitesand thus, were placed under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV)promoter. In particular, the constructs encoding the VH-CH1 and VL-CLwere cloned into two separate pVAX1 vectors, and thus, the resulting twoplasmids were required to generate the anti-Her-2 Fab in vivo.

The nucleic acid sequence encoding the VH-CH1 of the anti-Her-2 Fab isset forth in SEQ ID NO:40 and FIG. 32. In FIG. 32, underlining anddouble underling mark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTC GAG) restrictionenzyme sites, respectively, used to clone the nucleic acid sequence intothe pVAX1 vector while bold marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGA TAA)codons. SEQ ID NO:40 encodes the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:41, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the VH-CH1 of the anti-Her-2 Fab(FIGS. 32 and 33).

The nucleic acid sequence encoding the VL-CL of the anti-Her-2 Fab isset forth in SEQ ID NO:42 and FIG. 34. In FIG. 34, underlining anddouble underlining mark the BamHI (GGA TCC) and Xho (CTC GAG)restriction enzyme sites, respectively, used to cloned the nucleic acidsequence into the pVAX1 vector while bold marks the start (ATG) and stop(TGA TAA) codons. SEQ ID NO:42 encodes the amino acid sequence set forthin SEQ ID NO:43, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the VL-CL of theanti-Her-2 Fab (FIGS. 34 and 35).

To determine whether a mixture of the plasmids encoding the VH-CH1 andVL-CL of the anti-Her-2 Fab generated the anti-Her-2 Fab in vivo, 293Tcells were transfected with a mixture of the plasmids encoding the heavy(VH-CH1) and light (VL and CL) of anti-Her-2 Fab or pVAX1. Aftertransfection, total IgG concentration was measured as shown in FIG. 36.In FIG. 36, error bars represented the standard deviation. These dataindicated that the anti-Her-2 Fab was generated in vivo uponintroduction of the two plasmids, each encoding the VH-CH1 or VL-CL ofanti-Her-2 Fab.

Example 16 Anti-Dengue Virus Human IgG

A single plasmid system was created to generate an anti-Dengue virus(DENV) human IgG antibody in vivo. Specifically, a construct wasgenerated as shown in the schematic of FIG. 37. Specifically, a leadersequence was placed upstream of the nucleic acid sequence encoding theIgG heavy chain (i.e., variable heavy region (VH), constant heavy region1 (CH1), hinge region, constant heavy region 2 (CH2), and constant heavyregion 3 (CH3)). In turn, a sequence encoding a protease cleavage sitewas placed downstream of the nucleic acid sequence encoding the IgGheavy chain. A nucleic acid sequence encoding the IgG light chain (i.e.,variable light region (VL) and constant light region (CL)) was locatedafter the sequence encoding the protease cleavage site (i.e., furincleavage site). The signal peptides encoded by this construct werecognate signal peptides, thereby providing proper secretion of theantibody upon expression. Additionally, upon expression a singletranscript is translated into a single polypeptide, which is thenprocessed by the protease into the polypeptides corresponding to theheavy and light chains of the anti-DENV human IgG. These heavy and lightchain polypeptides then assemble into a functional anti-DENV human IgG,i.e., an antibody that binds its cognate antigen.

This construct was cloned into the expression vector pVAX1 (namely theBamHI and XhoI sites), thereby placing it under the control of apromoter. This construct encoding the anti-Dengue virus human IgG hasthe nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:44 (FIG. 38), which hasbeen optimized for expression. In FIG. 38, underlining and doubleunderlining mark the BamH1 (GGA TCC) and XhoI (CTC GAG) restrictionenzyme sites used to clone the construct into the pVAX 1 vector whilebolds marks the start (ATG) and stop (TGA TAA) codons. Optimizationincluded inclusion of a kozak sequence (GCC ACC) and codon optimization.SEQ ID NO:44 encodes the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:45and FIG. 39, i.e., the amino acid sequence of the anti-DENV human IgGbefore cleavage by the protease to separate the heavy and light chainsinto two separate polypeptides.

The plasmid containing the nucleic acid sequence encoding theanti-Dengue virus human IgG was administered to mice to determine if theanti-Dengue virus human IgG was generated in vivo (i.e., in the mice).After administration of the plasmid, sera were obtained from the miceand analyzed via ELISA to determine whether the sera contained antibodythat was reactive to the Dengue E protein from four Dengue virusserotypes, namely DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4. As shown in FIG.40, sera from mice administered the plasmid containing the nucleic acidsequence encoding the anti-DENV human IgG was reactive to the DENV Eprotein from serotypes DENV-1, -2, -3, and -4. An isotypic antibody wasused as a positive control. Accordingly, these data indicated that uponintroduction of the plasmid into mice, the nucleic acid sequenceencoding the anti-DENV human IgG was transcribed and translated into apolypeptide that was processed to yield polypeptides containing theheavy and light chains of the anti-DENV human IgG. These polypeptidesassembled into the anti-DENV human IgG, thereby providing a functionalantibody that bound or was reactive to the DENV E protein.

To further examine the generation of anti-DENV human IgG in vivo byadministration of a single plasmid, mice were administered via injectionthe plasmid containing the nucleic acid sequence encoding the anti-DENVhuman IgG. Specifically, mice were administered 50 μg or 100 μg of theplasmid and 5 mice were in each group. On day 3 and day 6post-injection, the mice were examined for seroconversion. As shown inFIG. 41, mice from both groups were seropositive for anti-DENV IgGantibodies. In particular, the mice administered 50 μg of the plasmidhad about 110 ng/mL of human IgG and the mice administered 100 μg of theplasmid had about 170 ng/mL of human IgG. Accordingly, these datafurther demonstrated the generation of anti-DENV human IgG in vivo afteradministration of a plasmid encoding the same. These data alsodemonstrated that anti-DENV human IgG antibody production occurred inless than 1 week, thereby allowing for rapid production of anti-DENVhuman IgG.

Example 17 Materials and Methods for Examples 18-25

Optimized DNA plasmid(s) encoding either a Fab fragment (CHIKV-Fab) orfull-length antibody (CHIKV-IgG) targeting the CHIKV envelope (Env)protein were designed and compared. Intramuscular delivery of either DNAconstruct into mice resulted in rapid production of their encodedantibodies as well as protective efficacy from early and late exposuresto CHIKV. Sera from CHIKV-IgG immunized mice also neutralized multipleclinical CHIKV isolates ex vivo. Single immunizations with CHIKV-IgGdemonstrated significantly better protection from early viral exposurethan antigen-inducing DNA plasmids as well as comparable levels ofprotection from late exposure to CHIKV. These studies are described inmore detail below.

Cells. Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK) 293T cells and Vero cells weremaintained in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (Gibco-Invitrogen)supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 IU of penicillin perml, 100 ug of streptomycin per ml and 2 mM L-glutamine.

Construction of the CHIKV-Fab and CHIKV-IgG. To construct the anti-CHIKVEnv antibody expressing plasmid, the variable heavy (VH) and variablelight (VL) chain segments of the antibody were generated by use ofsynthetic oligonucleotides with several modifications. For cloning theFab fragment or full length antibody, a single open reading frame wasassembled containing the heavy and light chains, an inserted furincleavage site and a P2A self-processing peptide site in between heavyand light chain. This was incorporated in order to express a full-lengthantibody from a single open reading frame. In both plasmids, a leadersequence was incorporated into each gene in order to enhance expression.The resulting sequences were modified and enhanced with codon and RNAoptimization and were cloned into the pVax1 expression vector and theresulting constructs were produced on a large scale for this study(GenScript, NJ). The purified plasmid DNA was formulated in water forsubsequent administration into mice. An empty control pVax1 expressionvector was used as a negative control. Specifically, the DNA for thevariable light (VL) and variable heavy (VH) (i.e. Fab) chains or fullimmunoglobulin (Ig) used in this study were generated from an anti-Envspecific CHIKV neutralizing human monoclonal antibody/hybridoma.

Construction of the CHIKV Fab is also described above in Example 14 andbelow in Example 18.

Construction of the CHIKV Ig is also described below in Example 18. Thenucleic acid sequence encoding the CHIKV Ig is set forth in SEQ IDNO:65. SEQ ID NO:65 encodes the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:66.

Measurement of expression of anti-CHIKV Env antibody from CHIKV Fab orCHIKV-IgG by Western blot analysis. The human 293T cell line wasutilized for expression analysis using the TurboFectin 8.0 transfectionreagent (OriGene). These cells were seeded at 50-70% confluence (1-3×10⁵cells per well in 2 mL total media volume) in a 35 mm culture dish for24 hours. After 24 hours, cells were transfected with 10 μg of pVax1control vector, CHIKV-Fab (5 μg of VH and 5 μg of VL DNA) or CHIKV-IgG(10 μg). Supernatant was collected at 48 hours post-transfection andassessed for anti-CHIKV antibody levels by ELISA using CHIKV-Envrecombinant protein as the coating antigen. Supernatant from the pVax1sample was used as a negative control.

Western blot analysis was performed to confirm specific binding of theantibody produced by transfection with CHIKV-Fab or CHIKV-IgG. Togenerate a source of CHIKV envelope protein, 293T cells were transfectedwith 10 μg of DNA plasmids expressing the CHIKV-Env. Two days posttransfection cells were lysed and electrophoresed on a 12% SDS-PAGE gel.The gel was transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane using iBlot2(Life Technologies). Samples were separated on a poly-acrylamide gel(12% NuPAGE Novex, Invitrogen) and transferred to a PDF membrane(Invitrogen). Membranes were blocked using a commercial buffer (OdysseyBlocking Buffer, LiCor Biosciences) and incubated overnight at 4° C.with specific primary antibodies raised in mice as well as I3-actin(Santa Cruz). IRDye800 and IRD700 goat anti-rabbit or anti-mousesecondary antibodies were used for detection (LiCor Biosciences).

Virus-specific binding assay: Immunofluorescence Analysis. Chamberslides (Nalgene Nunc, Naperville, Ill.) were seeded with Vero cells(1×10⁴) from stock cultures. Cells were grown until they reachapproximately 80% confluency after which cells were infected for 2h withCHIKV at a multiplicity of infection (m.o.i.) of 1. After adsorbing for2 h at 37° C., the virus inoculum was aspirated and the cell sheets wererinsed three times with Iscove-10% FBS medium. Twenty-four hours postinfection, the cells were washed twice with PBS and fixed with coldmethanol for 20 min at room temperature and then allowed to air dry.Antibody binding was detected by addition of immune sera (1:100dilution) from the CHIKV-Fab administered mice for 90 min at 37° C. in ahumidified chamber. After washing thrice with PBS, the cells wereincubated for 60 min at 37° C. with a FITC-conjugated goat anti-humanIgG (Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc.). The additional nuclear stainingwith 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) at room temperature for 20minutes. 1×PBS washes were performed after each incubation step. Thesamples were subsequently mounted onto glass slides using DABCO and wereviewed under a confocal microscope (LSM710; Carl Zeiss). The resultingimages were analysed using the Zen software (Carl Zeiss). Further,immune reactivity of CHIK-IgG immunized sera were tested in HIV-1 GFPpseudotyped with CHIKV-Env virus infected Vero cells to test the bindingactivity by flow cytometry.

Antibody quantification analysis by ELISA. ELISA assays were performedwith sera from mice administered CHIKV-Fab, CHIKV-IgG or pVax1 in orderto measure the antibody construct's expression kinetics and capacity tobind to its target antigen, CHIKV-Env. Sera samples were collected fromplasmid-injected mice at various time points. For quantification oftotal human Fab in the collected sera samples, ninety-six well highbinding polystyrene plates (Corning) were coated with 1 μg/well of goatanti-human IgG-Fab fragment antibody (Bethyl Laboratories) overnight at4° C. To measure the antibody construct's capacity to bind its targetantigen, the CHIKV Env protein, ELISA plates were coated withrecombinant CHIKV Env protein overnight at 4° C. The following day,plates were washed with PBS-T (PBS, 0.05% Tween 20) and blocked with 3%BSA in PBS-T for 1 hour at room temperature. After another wash, sampleswere diluted at 1:100 in 1% FBS in PBS-T, added to the plate, andincubated for 1 hour at room temperature. Plates were washed, andHRP-conjugated goat anti-human kappa light chain (Bethyl Laboratories)was added for 1 hour at room temperature. Plates were then read at 450nm using a Biotek EL312e Bio-Kinetics reader. Samples were detected withSIGMAFAST OPD (Sigma-Aldrich). For quantification, a standard curve wasgenerated using purified human IgG/kappa (Bethyl Laboratories). All serasamples were tested in duplicate.

CHIKV-Env pseudotype production and FACS analysis. CHIKV-Env GFPpseudotypes were produced by using 5 μg of pNL4-3env-GFP and 10 μg ofplasmid-encoding CHIKV viral envelope. Pseudotyped VSVs were produced.Pseudovirions were concentrated by ultracentrifuge concentration at28,000 rpm in a Sorvall Lynx 400 superspeed centrifuge (ThermoScientific) through a 20% sucrose cushion for 1.5 h at 4° C. The pelletswere resuspended overnight in HBSS at 4° C. After p24 ELISA analysis,lentiviral pseudovirions were normalized to contain an equal number ofviral particles. Cells were seeded at 2.5×10⁴ in 48-well plates 24 hprior to infection. Cells were detached 18 hours post infection, fixedwith 1% PFA in PBS for 10 minutes, and permeabilized with 0.1% (w/v)saponin detergent solution. CHIKV infected cells were incubated withsera from pCHIKV-IgG administered mice and Alexa 594 conjugated goatanti-human IgG secondary antibody (Life Technologies). Infection wasevaluated with flow cytometry (Becton-Dickinson) and analyzed usingFlowJo software.

IgG administration in mice and CHIKV challenge study. B6.Cg-Foxn1^(nu)/J(The Jackson Laboratory) mice were used for the Fab and full length IgGgeneration, quantification and functional characterization. Mice wereinjected with a total volume of 50 ul of either pVax1 DNA (100 μg),CHIKV-Fab DNA (50 μg of VH and 50 μg of VL) or CHIKV-IgG (100 μg) in thequadriceps muscle. Administration of the DNA plasmids was followedimmediately by optimized EP-mediated delivery (CELLECTRA®; InovioPharmaceuticals, Inc.). The pulsing parameters for EP delivery were 3pulses of 0.5 Amp constant current, 1 second apart and 52 millisecondsin length.

For CHIKV challenge study, BALB/c mice were injected intramuscularlywith 100 μl total volume of CHIKV-Fab or CHIKV-IgG or empty controlpVax1 plasmids (100 μg), immediately followed with Opt-EP mediateddelivery. Two days after DNA delivery, mice were challenged with a totalof 1×10⁷ PFU (25 μl) of CHIKV-Del-03 (JN578247) (41) via thesubcutaneous route in the dorsal side of each hind foot. Foot swelling(height by breadth) was measured using a digital caliper daily from 0 to14 dpi. Mice were monitored daily for survival and signs of infection(i.e. body weight and lethargy) over a three week post-challengeobservation period. Animals that lost more than 30% body mass wereeuthanized and serum samples were collected for cytokine quantificationand other immune analysis. Blood samples were collected at days 7 to 14post challenge from tail bleedings and viremia was analyzed by plaqueassay (PFU/ml). Two independent experiments were performed.

Immune Cytokine Analysis. Sera were collected from CHIKV-Fab or CHIKV-Iginjected and virally challenged mice (at day 10 post challenge). TNF-α,IL-1β, IP-10 and IL-6 serum cytokine levels were measured using ELISAkits according to the manufacturer's instructions (R&D Systems).

CHIKV Neutralization Assay. Virus neutralizing antibody titers in seraof mice administered with CHIKV-Fab or CHIKV-IgG were determined.Briefly, Vero cells (American Type Culture Collection) were plated at15,000 cells per well in a 96 well plate (Nunc). Serial two-folddilutions of heat-inactivated mice sera were prepared in triplicate in96-wells plate and 100 TCID50 of CHIKV viral isolates suspension wasadded to each well. After one hour of incubation at 37° C., samples wereadded to Vero cell monolayers and incubated for 3 days. Vero cellmonolayers were subsequently fixed and stained with 0.05% crystalviolet, 20% methanol (Sigma-Aldrich). Neutralization titers weredetermined by taking the reciprocal of the last dilution where the Verocell monolayer remained fully intact and expressed as the reciprocal ofthe highest serum dilution still giving 100% suppression of cytopathiceffect. Graphs and statistics were generated with the GraphPad Prism 5software package (GraphPad Software). Nonlinear regression fitting withsigmoidal dose-response (variable slope) was used to determine the IC50.

Statistical analysis. Statistical analyses, using either a studentt-test or the nonparametric Spearman's correlation test, were performedusing Graph Pad Prism software (Prism Inc.). Correlations between thevariables in the control and experimental groups were statisticallyevaluated using the Spearman rank correlation test. For all the tests, pvalues less than 0.05 were considered significant.

Example 18 Construct and Functionality of CHIKV Monoclonal Antibodies

The CHIKV-Fab and full length IgG constructs were optimized forincreased expression. FIG. 63A illustrates the design of the optimizedanti-CHIKV-Fab and CHIKV-IgG plasmids. For CHIKV-Fab, the VH and VLgenes were then separately cloned into pVax1 plasmid vectors asdescribed above in Examples 14 and 17.

To examine the expression and functionality of CHIKV-Fab and IgG, theseantibodies were produced in vitro. Specifically, human 293T cells weretransfected with equal amounts of both heavy and light chain plasmids ofthe CHIKV-Fab or the plasmid of the CHIKV-IgG, and supernatant fromtransfected cells were collected at 48 hours post-transfection. Asindicated in FIG. 63B, only cells transfected with CHIKV-Fab plasmids orCHIKV-IgG plasmid produced measurable levels of the anti-CHIKVantibodies as measured by the binding ELISA using recombinant CHIKVenvelope protein and indicating that the two-plasmid design of CHIKV-Fabor single full length IgG generated properly assembled and functionalCHIKV antibodies in vitro.

Example 19 Enhanced In Vivo Expression Kinetics and Quantification ofCHIKV-IgG Following EP-Mediated Delivery

To characterize this DNA delivery approach for monoclonal antibodydelivery, the effect of the ability of CHIKV-IgG to produce functionalCHIKV antibodies in vivo was tested. This test used the full length IgGconstruct described above in Examples 17 and 18. B6.Cg-Foxn1^(nu)/J micewere administered the IgG plasmid or pVax1 vector by IM injection,followed immediately by EP as indicated in FIG. 63C. In addition to theCHIKV-IgG for the comparative purposes, single administration ofrecombinant CHIKV-Env protein was also immunized in mice. Sera from allmice were collected at various time points during the experiment asindicated, and target antigen binding to the CHIKV envelope protein wasmeasured by ELISA. Mice administered CHIKV-IgG plasmid produceddetectable levels of antibodies capable of binding to the CHIKV envelopeprotein and elicited by day 1-3 post administration, where recombinantCHIKV-Env immunized mice showed by day 8 post administration (FIG. 63D)and This result indicated the rapid generation of IgG via this plasmiddelivery as compared to protein administration.

Furthermore, a single administration of CHIKV-IgG plasmid with EP inmice resulted in the rapid generation of human CHIKV-Abs detectable inserum. Serum levels of CHIKV-Abs attained 600-800 ng/mL by day 5, peakedat 1300-1600 ng/mL on day 14 and were sustained at levels >800 ng/mLthru day 35 (FIG. 63E). To examine the expression of CHIKV-IgG producedby the plasmid in vivo, the binding specificity of the anti-CHIKVantibodies produced from the immunized mice was confirmed by Westernblot analysis using recombinant CHIKV protein, indicating that theIgG-plasmid design of CHIKV-IgG generated properly cleaved and assembledfunctional CHIKV-IgG antibodies in vivo (FIG. 63F). These experimentsprovided evidence that the DNA delivered CHIKV-monoclonal antibodieswere stable not only in vitro but also over multiple-day time courses inanimals.

Example 20 Characterization of Binding Specificity andImmunohistochemistry of CHIKV-Infected Cells

The above study in Example 19 was expanded and infection was used tocharacterize the therapeutic potential of the DNA delivery anti-CHIKVmonoclonal antibodies. CHIKV-abs bind specifically to CHIKV-Env and notto other proteins. The specificity and target binding properties ofCHIKV-Abs were assessed by binding ELISA, FACS analysis andimmunohistochemistry using the CHIKV infected cells. Tested serialdilutions of sera from day 14 mice injected with plasmid(s) encodingCHIKV-IgG or CHIKV-Fab antibodies demonstrated that the detectedantibodies could specifically bind to its target antigen, i.e. CHIKV-Envprotein, and not another viral protein, i.e., recombinant HIV-1 envelopeprotein (FIG. 64A). To further analyze the binding specificity of theanti-CHIKV-IgG antibody produced in vivo, sera from mice were incubatedwith fixed Vero cells that had been infected with CHIKV virus.Immunofluorescence imaging highlighted the presence of boundanti-CHIKV-IgG on cells expressing the CHIKV envelope protein but not inmouse serum from construct pVax1 only mice (FIG. 64B). In addition, invivo produced antibody binding specificity for the infected cells wasanalysed by FACS (FIG. 64C). Experimental sera samples, from CHIKV-IgGadministered mice bound the CHIKV-Env target antigen.

Example 21 Sera from CHIKV-IgG Injected Mice Demonstrated BroadNeutralizing Activity Against Clinical CHIKV Isolates

To assess the potential anti-CHIKV activity of sera collected fromCHIKV-Ig administered mice, neutralizing activity was measured againstmultiple CHIKV isolates, specifically CHIKV strains Ross, LR2006-OPY1,IND-63WB1, Ross, PC08, Bianchi and DRDE-06. IC₅₀ values (the highestdilution of serum that resulted in at least 50% inhibition) weredetermined for each viral isolate (FIG. 65). Sera from CHIKV-IgGinjected mice effectively neutralized all six viral isolates tested,demonstrating that a single injection of the DNA encoding CHIKV-IgGproduced neutralizing titers of the human anti-CHIKV Ig in mice. Theresults indicated that the antibody generated from administration ofCHIKV-IgG exhibited relevant biological activity after in vivo delivery.

Example 22 CHIKV-IgG Contributed High Levels of Virus-Specific AntibodyActivity and Protected Mice from CHIKV Challenge

To determine if the CHIKV-IgG construct provided protection from earlyexposure to CHIKV, groups of mice were injected with either CHIKV-IgG orCHIKV-Fab plasmids on day 0, and then challenged with virus on day 2. Athird group of mice received empty pVax1 plasmid to serve as a negativecontrol. Survival and weight changes were recorded for 20 days. All miceinjected with pVax1 plasmid died within a week of viral challenge (FIG.66A). In challenged mice, 100% survival was observed in miceadministered either CHIKV-IgG or CHIKV-Fab during the 20-daypost-challenge observation period. This indicates that both of the CHIKVconstructs conferred protective immunity against CHIKV as early aspost-delivery (FIG. 66B).

Next, whether CHIKV-IgG and CHIKV-Fab produced long-lasting protectiveimmunity was assessed. Groups of mice were challenged with CHIKV virus30 days after single injections with CHIKV-IgG plasmid, CHIKV-Fabplasmids or the pVax1 plasmid. Mice were then monitored for survivalover a period of 20 days. The mice injected with CHIKV-Fab had a 50%survival whereas 90% survival was observed in mice injected withCHIKV-IgG during the post challenge observation period. These resultsindicated that both of the CHIKV-IgG and CHIKV-Fab constructs providedlong-lasting protective immunity in vivo, although protection conferredby CHIKV-IgG may be more persistent and long lasting than that notedwith CHIKV-Fab injection (p=0.0075) (FIG. 66C).

Mosquito-borne virus like CHIKV can cause severe encephalitis in humans.Different modes of viral challenge such as intranasal, subcutaneous andfootpad infection of mice with the CHIKV have resulted in high mortalitywithin 6-9 days of infection. In addition, CHIKV causes high mortalitywithin 6-9 days following infection of mice with various degrees ofpathogenesis. Accordingly, an experiment was conducted to compare theefficacy of CHIKV-antibody therapy against viral infection withintranasal and subcutaneous viral challenge. Twenty mice in each group,i.e., one group with pVax1 and one group with CHIKV-IgG plasmid,received single immunization and half of the mice in each groups werechallenged through intranasal administered of CHIKV (in 25 μl of PBS)and rest of the mice were challenged by subcutaneous injection withCHIKV on day 2. The protective efficacy of CHIKV-IgG was measured bydetermining the weight loss, hind limb weakness and lethargy. Whetherchallenged subcutaneously (FIG. 66D) (p<0.0024) or intranasally (FIG.66E) (p<0.0073), CHIKV-IgG provided significant protection from CHIKVinfection as compared to control mice. Mice receiving the subcutaneouschallenge had a delay in mean weight loss relative to the intranasalchallenge. Taken together with the above data, the results indicatedthat the DNA delivered CHIKV-IgG generated broadly reactive neutralizingantibody responses that protected against traditional (subcutaneous) aswell as mucosal CHIKV challenge.

Example 23 Evaluation of Immediate and Persistent CHIKV Specific IgGUpon Viral Challenge

After demonstrating that CHIKV-IgG generated an equally rapid, yet morepersistent, protective immune response than the CHIKV-Fab construct invivo, the protective efficacy generated by CHIKV-IgG was compared to theCHIKV-Env plasmid, a DNA vaccine plasmid that expresses a full-lengthCHIKV envelope protein. Whereas such DNA vaccine strategies rely on thehost immune system to recognize and respond to a target antigen, theCHIKV-IgG construct conferred protective immunity independent from thehost immune response. Considering this difference, it was determined ifthe CHIKV-IgG construct provided a more immediate source of protectivehumoral immunity from early exposure to CHIKV.

Therefore, groups of mice were given a single administration ofCHIKV-IgG, CHIKV-Env, or pVax1, and then challenged with CHIKV two dayspost-plasmid immunization (FIG. 67A). All mice administered CHIKV-Env orpVax1 died within six days of viral challenge, whereas 100% survival wasobserved in mice immunized with CHIKV-IgG (FIG. 67B). This illustratedthat protective immunity was conferred much earlier post-administrationby CHIKV-IgG than CHIKV-Env, a antigen-generating DNA vaccine.

The duration of anti-CHIKV responses generated by CHIKV-IgG andCHIKV-Env were subsequently evaluated. Different immunization regimenswere utilized to ensure induction of a robust immune response byCHIKV-Env. Thus, mice were given either a single immunization ofCHIKV-IgG on day 0, or multiple immunizations with CHIKV-Env (days 0,14, and 28) prior to viral challenge on day 35. A third group of micereceived a single immunization of pVax1 on day 0 and viral challenge onday 35 (FIG. 67A, group II). 100% survival was recorded for mice thatreceived the multi-booster immunization regimen with CHIKV-Env (FIG.67C), which markedly contrasted the survival rate of mice previouslyimmunized with a single injection of the same DNA vaccine (FIG. 67B).These findings were consistent with the kinetics of an adaptive immuneresponse, which takes approximately two weeks to develop followingantigen exposure and often require multiple rounds of antigen exposureto generate protective immunity.

Furthermore, 90% survival was noted in CHIKV-IgG inoculated mice duringthe 20-day observation period (p=0.0005) (FIG. 67C); the figure shows<80% survival in CHIKV-IgG immunized mice by day 43. However, howdifferent levels of human IgG detected in the mouse serum at early andlate time points after plasmid/vaccine administration could influencethe above challenge outcomes was evaluated. Anti-CHIKV Env specifichuman IgG was detectable within 48 hours of single injection ofCHIKV-IgG construct, and peak levels were measured by 14 dayspost-injection (˜1400 ng/mL). The human IgG was still detectable 45 dayspost-injection at levels above the initially measured values on day 2.This decreased protection corresponded to measured sera levels ofanti-CHIKV IgG (FIG. 67D). Diminishing levels of protective antibodieswere likely due to normal clearance of the antibody, indicating that thelevel of CHIKV-IgG may wane to levels below protection after extendedperiods of time if not re-administered. In summary, these findingsindicated that a single injection of CHIKV-IgG generated a protectiveresponse that was similar in quality and persistence to DNAvaccine-induced immune responses that require multiple boosterimmunizations.

Example 24 Induction of Persistent and Systemic Anti-CHIKV-EnvAntibodies Following CHIKV-IgG and CHIKV-Env Immunization

Given that both CHIKV-IgG and CHIKV-Env protective responses were seenin mice immunized with CHIKV-IgG construct and CHIKV-Env construct, anadditional study was conducted to evaluate the antibody levels. BALB/cmice were immunized with CHIKV-IgG DNA at 0 days or with CHIKV-Env DNAat 0, 14 and 21 days. FIG. 67E shows the levels of anti-CHIKV IgG atindicated time points from mice immunized with either CHIKV-IgG DNA orCHIKV-Env DNA. The anti-CHIKV human IgG was measured inCHIKV-IgG-immunized mice and anti-CHIKV mouse IgG was measured inCHIKV-Env-immunized mice. The results showed an early detection andrapid increase of human IgG in CHIKV-IgG-immunized mice. Titres of mouseIgG elicited by CHIKV-Env reach similar peak levels within two weeks ofimmunization, but exhibited a slower level of antibody production.

Example 25 Reduction in CHIKV Viral Loads and Cytokine Levels Resultingin the Control of Infection

CHIKV viral load and pro-inflammatory cytokines may correlate toCHIKV-associated disease severity. Thus, the ability of CHIKV-IgG tosuppress these associated-disease markers (i.e., viral load andpro-inflammatory cytokines) at early and late time points post-viralchallenge was assessed. Sera from mice immunized with either CHIKV-IgGDNA or CHIKV-Env DNA exhibited significantly reduced viral loads incomparison to pVax1 control animals (p=0.0244 and 0.0221 respectively)(FIG. 68A). CHIKV-IgG-immunized mice showed comparable levels of viralload reduction to CHIKV-Env mice. Selected pro-inflammatory cytokineswere also measured (TNF-α and IL-6) from CHIKV-IgG-immunized mice andCHIKV-Env immunized mice on 5^(th) post-viral challenge. In comparisonto pVax1-immunized animals, CHIKV-IgG and CHIKV-Env immunized animalsexhibited reduced sera levels of both cytokines to similar levels atearly and late time points (FIGS. 68B and 68C). As sera levels of CHIKVvirus, TNF-α, and IL-6 correlate with disease severity, these findingsindicated that single immunizations with CHIKV-IgG DNA provided adurable level of protection from CHIKV-associated pathology at levelscomparable to DNA vaccines such as CHIKV-Env.

As CTL may be important in eliminating virus-infected cells, furtheranalyses were carried out to assess the induced T-cell responses byCHIKV-ENV and CHIKV-IgG. IFN-γ producing cells were detected in allimmunized mice. FIG. 68D was a measure of T cell responses from micepreviously immunized with CHIKV-IgG DNA or CHIKV-Env DNA. The resultsshowed that CHIKV-Env elicited strong T cell responses as measured byIFN-γ levels, whereas CHIKV-IgG did not.

In summary, the studies in Examples 14 and 17-25 demonstrated rapidproduction of the encoded antibody within 48 hours post-injection invivo. The produced antibody was also sustained for several weeks withinthe receipt animal. Mice injected with CHIKV-IgG DNA were fullyprotected from lethal CHIKV challenge (100% protection). Viremia andpro-inflammatory cytokine levels were also reduced in these protectedmice and CHIKV-associated disease pathologies were suppressed.

In particular, in these CHIKV-Fab and CHIKV-IgG studies, rapidproduction of the full length IgG was noted within the first 48 to 72hours after administration. The kinetics and level of production weresimilar between the Fab and IgG versions of the antibody at early timepoints, which was critical for infectious disease prevention. Both formsof antibody modalities protected mice against a lethal CHIKV challengetwo days post-immunization. However, differences in protection wereapparent when mice were challenged at a later time point (30 dayspost-immunization) following vaccine delivery: 90% of mice immunizedwith CHIKV-IgG survived, whereas 50% survival was recorded in CHIKV-Fabimmunized mice. Thus, although both antibody constructs have identicalantigen specificity and rapid expression following delivery, the fulllength IgG demonstrated a longer half-life than the Fab construct, whichproved essential in sustaining protective immunity.

A DNA based vaccine for CHIKV infection, termed CHIKV-Env, was alsocompared to the encoded antibodies. When mice were injected with asingle dose of either CHIKV-IgG or CHIKV-Env and challenged with virustwo days later, all mice in the CHIKV-IgG injection group survived,which contrasted with the CHIKV-Env group, where no mice survivedinfection. However, complete protection was observed with CHIKV-ENVfollowing a full immunization regimen (three inoculations over a threeweek period). A similar level of protection was seen in miceadministered a single dose of CHIKV-IgG, though this protection waned to75% survival over an extended period of time.

Example 26 Delivery of Cross-Reactive Neutralizing Antibodies AgainstDENV

Optimized DNA plasmids encoding the heavy and light chains of theanti-DENV antibody DV87.1, a human IgG1 mAb that has the ability toneutralize DENV1-3, were designed and constructed. Specifically, twooptimized plasmids were constructed: pDVSF-3 WT, which encoded for theheavy and light chains of DV87.1, and pDVSF-3 LALA, which encoded for anFc region-modified version of DV87.1 with abrogated FcγR binding by wayof two leucine-to-alanine (LALA) mutations in the CH2 region. This wasdone to eliminate antibody-dependent enhancement. The heavy and lightchain genes in each construct were separated by a furin cleavage siteand a P2A self-processing peptide. Each transgene was geneticallyoptimized, synthesized, and subcloned into a modified pVax1 mammalianexpression vector (FIG. 69A).

The antibody DVSF-3 WT was encoded by the nucleic acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO:75. SEQ ID NO:75 encoded the amino acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO:76. The nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:75 wascontained in the plasmid pDVSF-3 WT.

The antibody DVSF-3 LALA was encoded by the nucleic acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO:77. SEQ ID NO:77 encoded the amino acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO:78. The nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:77 wascontained in the plasmid pDVSF-3 LALA.

The plasmids were transfected into human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293Tcells, and secreted antibody levels in the supernatant were quantifiedafter 48 hours by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (FIG. 69B).Both pDVSF-3 WT and pDVSF-3 LALA resulted in 600 ng/mL of human IgG,confirming that the plasmids expressed human IgG, and that the LALAmutation had no effect on antibody expression levels in vitro. Toconfirm proper antibody assembly, DVSF-3 and DVSF-3 LALA antibodies werecollected from supernatants of transfected HEK293T cells and separatedby SDS-PAGE gel for Western blot analysis (FIG. 69C). The heavy andlight chain proteins were at their expected molecular weights,indicating proper protein cleavage and antibody assembly.

To assess the biological activity of the antibodies, a binding ELISAassay that measured whether the antibody-containing supernatant bound torecombinant DENV1-3 E proteins was performed. The supernatants ofHEK293T cells that secreted either DVSF-3 WT or DVSF-3 LALA antibodieswere able to recognize DENV1-3 E proteins, while DENV4 wentunrecognized, as expected (FIG. 72). Additionally, DVSF-3 WT- and DVSF-3LALA-containing supernatants were able to stain Vero cells infected withDENV1-3, whereas Vero cells infected with DENV4 were not stained by thesupernatants (FIG. 69D). Each construct showed in vitro neutralizationof DENV1-3 (data not shown), but DVSF-3 WT enhanced DENV infection ofFcγR-bearing human K562 cells, whereas DVSF-3 LALA had no such ADEactivity in vitro (FIGS. 72B and 75 (bottom panel)). Additionally,DVSF-3 bound to human FcyR1a whereas DVSF-3 LALA did not bind FcyR1a(FIG. 75 (top panel)).

In order to investigate antibody production kinetics in vivo, theduration of DNA plasmid-encoded human IgG expression in nude mice, whichwould model antibody expression in an immune-accommodating host, wasdetermined. The mice were injected intramuscularly with 100 ug of a DNAplasmid encoding another human IgG1 anti-DENV antibody, DVSF-1 WT,followed immediately by EP. DVSF-1 antibody was encoded by the nucleicacid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:67. SEQ ID NO:67 encoded the aminoacid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:68.

Human IgG concentrations in the serum were detectable within 5 days ofinjection, with peak levels of about 1000 ng/mL at two weekspost-injection (FIG. 70A, left panel). Duration of human IgG expressionlasted at least 19 weeks (FIG. 70A, right panel), thereby illustratingthe sustained expression levels attainable with the DNA plasmids.

Given that the mouse DENV challenge model used mice from the 129/Svbackground, the antibody-encoding DNA plasmid constructs were studied todetermine production of serum-detectable levels of DVSF-3 WT or LALA inthis background strain. Serum from 129/Sv mice receiving either pDVSF-3WT or pDVSF-3 LALA showed comparable human IgG levels (FIG. 70B) andstained Vero cells infected with DENV1-3 (FIG. 70C). Additionally, bothWT and LALA-containing serum were capable of neutralizing DENV1-3 (FIG.70D).

To assess whether mice expressing DNA plasmid-encoded anti-DENVneutralizing mAbs would be protected from DENV challenge, the AG129mouse model was employed. This mouse model lacked type I and type IIinterferon (IFN) receptors and, upon DENV infection, recapitulated manyaspects of human disease. These mice also exhibited ADE, with low dosesof serotype-specific as well as cross-reactive antibodies both enhancinginfection. For these studies, mice were infected with the mouse-adaptedDENV2 strain 5221, which, in the presence of sub-neutralizing amounts ofthe anti-DENV mAb 2H2, caused antibody-enhanced severe disease and acutelethality (4-6 days post-infection) in AG129 mice at sublethal doses.

To determine whether AG129 mice expressing pDVSF-3 LALA would beprotected against virus-only infection and antibody-dependent enhanceddisease (ADE), AG129 mice were given a single intramuscular injection ofpDVSF-3 WT or pDVSF-3 LALA followed immediately by EP. Negative controlsreceived a single intramuscular injection of pVax1 empty vector followedby EP. Five days later, the mice were challenged with a sub-lethal dose(1×10⁹ GE) of DENV2 S221 in the presence (ADE) or absence (virus-onlyinfection) of exogenous anti-DENV mAb 2H2. Mice in the pDVSF-3 WT,pDVSF-3 LALA, and pVax1 cohorts had mean human IgG concentrations of 750ng/mL, 1139 ng/mL, and undetectable levels, respectively, one day beforechallenge (FIG. 73; p≤0.0930 for comparison between pDVSF-3 WT andpDVSF-3 LALA).

Under virus-only infection conditions, pDVSF-3 WT-treated mice wereexpected to experience ADE and acute lethality, as immune complexesformed by DVSF-3 WT antibodies with DENV should lead to increasedinfection. Conversely, pVax1- and pDVSF-3 LALA-treated mice wereexpected to be protected from severe disease. Indeed, five of sixpDVSF-3 LALA-treated mice and all five pVax1 mice were protected fromsevere disease; all pDVSF-3 WT-treated mice succumbed to disease by day5 (FIG. 71A; p≤0.0084 for comparison between pDVSF-3 LALA and pDVSF-3WT), demonstrating the protective capacity of pDVSF-3 LALA againstvirus-only infection.

Under ADE conditions, both pDVSF-3 WT- and pVax1-treated mice wereexpected to experience acute lethality due to enhanced infection,whereas pDVSF-3 LALA-treated mice should be protected from severedisease. All five mice receiving pDVSF-3 LALA survived under ADEconditions, while those receiving either pDVSF-3 WT or pVax1 emptyvector succumbed to acute, antibody-enhanced disease within 4-5 days(FIG. 71B; p≤0.0072 for comparison between pDVSF-3 LALA and pDVSF-3 WT).Taken together, these data showed that injection of pDVSF-3 LALAprotected against severe disease in both virus-only and ADE conditions.

In summary, a single intramuscular injection of a DNA plasmid encoding amodified human anti-DENV1-3 neutralizing antibody was capable ofprotecting mice against virus-only and antibody-enhanced DENV disease.The protection conferred by neutralizing anti-DENV mAbs expressed bythis DNA delivery method was rapid, with complete survival in micechallenged less than a week after pDVSF-3 LALA administration. Further,plasmid-encoded antibody delivery provided protection within 5 daysafter delivery, which was significantly more rapid than vaccine-drivenprotection.

Example 27 Formulation with DVSF-1 and DVSF-3 Constructs

DENV serotypes may escape neutralization. Accordingly, a study wasperformed to examine an antibody cocktail targeting multiple epitopes onthe DENV virion for prophylaxis. 129/Sv mice were injected with pDVSF-3WT (anti-DENV1-3) in one leg and pDVSF-1 WT (anti-DENV1-4) in the other.Mice injected with both plasmids had significantly higher serum humanantibody levels at day 7 compared to mice receiving a single plasmid(FIG. 74; p≤0.0088 for comparison between pDVSF-1 WT and pDVSF-1+3;p≤0.0240 for comparison between pDVSF-3 WT and pDVSF-1+3). Furthermore,sera from mice injected with both plasmids stained Vero cells infectedwith all four DENV serotypes (data not shown).

Example 28 Anti-DENV Antibodies

As described above, constructs were generated that produced DVSF-1(i.e., WT), DVSF-3 WT and DVSF-3 LALA. Additional constructs weregenerated that produced DVSF-1 LALA, DVSF-2 WT, and DVSF-2 LALA.

As described above, DVSF-3 WT was encoded by the nucleic acid sequenceset forth in SEQ ID NO:75. SEQ ID NO:75 encoded the amino acid sequenceset forth in SEQ ID NO:76. DVSF-3 WT antibody neutralized DENV1-3 (datanot shown).

As also described above, DVSF-3 LALA was encoded by the nucleic acidsequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:77. SEQ ID NO:77 encoded the amino acidsequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:78.

DVSF-1 WT was encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:67. SEQ ID NO:67 encoded the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:68. DVSF-1 WT antibody neutralized DENV1-4 (data not shown).

DVSF-1 LALA was encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:69. SEQ ID NO:69 encoded the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:70.

DVSF-2 WT was encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:71. SEQ ID NO:71 encoded the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:72. DVSF-2 WT antibody neutralized DENV4 (data not shown).

DVSF-2 LALA was encoded by the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:73. SEQ ID NO:73 encoded the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO:74.

12. CLAUSES

For reasons of completeness, various aspects of the invention are setout in the following numbered clauses:

Clause 1. A method of generating a synthetic antibody in a subject, themethod comprising administering to the subject a composition comprisinga recombinant nucleic acid sequence encoding an antibody or fragmentthereof, wherein the recombinant nucleic acid sequence is expressed inthe subject to generate the synthetic antibody.

Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the antibody comprises a heavychain polypeptide, or fragment thereof, and a light chain polypeptide,or fragment thereof.

Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the heavy chain polypeptide,or fragment thereof, is encoded by a first nucleic acid sequence and thelight chain polypeptide, or fragment thereof, is encoded by a secondnucleic acid sequence.

Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises the first nucleic acid sequence and the secondnucleic acid sequence.

Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence further comprises a promoter for expressing the first nucleicacid sequence and the second nucleic acid sequence as a singletranscript in the subject.

Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the promoter is acytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter.

Clause 7. The method of clause 5, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence further comprises a third nucleic acid sequence encoding aprotease cleavage site, wherein the third nucleic acid sequence islocated between the first nucleic acid sequence and second nucleic acidsequence.

Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the protease of the subjectrecognizes and cleaves the protease cleavage site.

Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence is expressed in the subject to generate an antibody polypeptidesequence, wherein the antibody polypeptide sequence comprises the heavychain polypeptide, or fragment thereof, the protease cleavage site, andthe light chain polypeptide, or fragment thereof, wherein the proteaseproduced by the subject recognizes and cleaves the protease cleavagesite of the antibody polypeptide sequence thereby generating a cleavedheavy chain polypeptide and a cleaved light chain polypeptide, whereinthe synthetic antibody is generated by the cleaved heavy chainpolypeptide and the cleaved light chain polypeptide.

Clause 10. The method of clause 4, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises a first promoter for expressing the first nucleicacid sequence as a first transcript and a second promoter for expressingthe second nucleic acid sequence as a second transcript, wherein thefirst transcript is translated to a first polypeptide and the secondtranscript is translated into a second polypeptide, wherein thesynthetic antibody is generated by the first and second polypeptide.

Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein the first promoter and thesecond promoter are the same.

Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the promoter is acytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter.

Clause 13. The method of clause 2, wherein the heavy chain polypeptidecomprises a variable heavy region and a constant heavy region 1.

Clause 14. The method of clause 2, wherein the heavy chain polypeptidecomprises a variable heavy region, a constant heavy region 1, a hingeregion, a constant heavy region 2 and a constant heavy region 3.

Clause 15. The method of clause 2, wherein the light chain polypeptidecomprises a variable light region and a constant light region.

Clause 16. The method of clause 1, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence further comprises a Kozak sequence.

Clause 17. The method of clause 1, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence further comprises an immunoglobulin (Ig) signal peptide.

Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein the Ig signal peptidecomprises an IgE or IgG signal peptide.

Clause 19. The method of clause 1, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least one aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:1, 2, 5, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 53,55, 57, 59, 61, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, and 78.

Clause 20. The method of clause 1, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises at least one nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:3,4, 6, 7, 40, 42, 44, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62 63, 64, 65, 67, 69, 71,73, 75, and 77.

Clause 21. A method of generating a synthetic antibody in a subject, themethod comprising administering to the subject a composition comprisinga first recombinant nucleic acid sequence encoding a heavy chainpolypeptide, or fragment thereof, and a second recombinant nucleic acidsequence encoding a light chain polypeptide, or fragment thereof,wherein the first recombinant nucleic acid sequence is expressed in thesubject to generate a first polypeptide and the second recombinantnucleic acid is expressed in the subject to generate a secondpolypeptide, wherein the synthetic antibody is generated by the firstand second polypeptides.

Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the first recombinantnucleic acid sequence further comprises a first promoter for expressingthe first polypeptide in the subject and wherein the second recombinantnucleic acid sequence further comprises a second promoter for expressingthe second polypeptide in the subject.

Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the first promoter andsecond promoter are the same.

Clause 24. The method of clause 23, wherein the promoter is acytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter.

Clause 25. The method of clause 21, wherein the heavy chain polypeptidecomprises a variable heavy region and a constant heavy region 1.

Clause 26. The method of clause 21, wherein the heavy chain polypeptidecomprises a variable heavy region, a constant heavy region 1, a hingeregion, a constant heavy region 2 and a constant heavy region 3.

Clause 27. The method of clause 21, wherein the light chain polypeptidecomprises a variable light region and a constant light region.

Clause 28. The method of clause 21, wherein the first recombinantnucleic acid sequence and the second recombinant nucleic acid sequencefurther comprise a Kozak sequence.

Clause 29. The method of clause 21, wherein the first recombinantnucleic acid sequence and the second recombinant nucleic acid sequencefurther comprise an immunoglobulin (Ig) signal peptide.

Clause 30. The method of clause 29, wherein the Ig signal peptidecomprises an IgE or IgG signal peptide.

Clause 31. A method of preventing or treating a disease in a subject,the method comprising generating a synthetic antibody in a subjectaccording to the method of clause 1 or 21.

Clause 32. The method of clause 31, wherein the synthetic antibody isspecific for a foreign antigen.

Clause 33. The method of clause 32, wherein the foreign antigen isderived from a virus.

Clause 34. The method of clause 33, wherein the virus is Humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV), Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) or Dengue virus.

Clause 35. The method of clause 34, wherein the virus is HIV.

Clause 36. The method of clause 35, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least one aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:1, 2, 5, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 53, 55, and 57.

Clause 37. The method of clause 35, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises at least one nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:3,4, 6, 7, 50, 52, 55, 56, 62, 63, and 64.

Clause 38. The method of clause 34, wherein the virus is CHIKV.

Clause 39. The method of clause 38, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least one aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:59, 61, and 66.

Clause 40. The method of clause 38, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises at least one nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:58,60, and 65.

Clause 41. The method of clause 34, wherein the virus is Dengue virus.

Clause 42. The method of clause 41, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least one aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:45, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, and 78.

Clause 43. The method of clause 41, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises at least one nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:44,67, 69, 71, 73, 75, and 77.

Clause 44. The method of clause 31, wherein the synthetic antibody isspecific for a self-antigen.

Clause 45. The method of clause 44, wherein the self-antigen is Her2.

Clause 46. The method of clause 45, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least one aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:41 and 43.

Clause 47. The method of clause 45, wherein the recombinant nucleic acidsequence comprises at least one nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:40and 42.

Clause 48. A product produced by any one of the methods of clauses 1-47.

Clause 49. The product of clause 48, wherein the product is single DNAplasmid capable of expressing a functional antibody.

Clause 50. The product of clause 48, wherein the product is comprised oftwo distinct DNA plasmids capable of expressing components of afunctional antibody that combine in vivo to form a functional antibody.

Clause 51. A method of treating a subject from infection by a pathogen,comprising: administering a nucleotide sequence encoding a syntheticantibody specific for the pathogen.

Clause 52. The method of clause 51, further comprising: administering anantigen of the pathogen to generate an immune response in the subject.

Clause 53. A nucleic acid molecule encoding a synthetic antibodycomprising a nucleic acid sequence having at least about 95% identityover an entire length of the nucleic acid sequence selected from thegroup consisting of: (a) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:44; (b) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:67; (c) anucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:69; (d) a nucleic acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:71; (e) a nucleic acid sequence asset forth in SEQ ID NO:73; (f) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth inSEQ ID NO:75; (g) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:77;(h) a nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:58; (i) a nucleicacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:60; and (j) a nucleic acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:65.

Clause 54. The nucleic acid molecule of clause 53, wherein the nucleicacid sequence is selected from the group consisting of: (a) the nucleicacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:44; (b) the nucleic acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:67; (c) the nucleic acid sequence asset forth in SEQ ID NO:69; (d) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth inSEQ ID NO:71; (e) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:73; (f) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:75; (g)the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:77; (h) the nucleicacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:58; (i) the nucleic acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:60; and (j) the nucleic acid sequenceas set forth in SEQ ID NO:65.

Clause 55. A nucleic acid molecule encoding a synthetic antibodycomprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a protein having at leastabout 95% identity over an entire length of the amino acid sequenceselected from the group consisting of: (a) an amino acid sequence as setforth in SEQ ID NO:45; (b) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:68; (c) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:70; (d) anamino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:72; (e) an amino acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:74; (f) an amino acid sequence as setforth in SEQ ID NO:76; (g) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:78; (h) an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:59; (i) anamino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:61; and (j) an amino acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:66.

Clause 56. The nucleic acid molecule of clause 55, wherein the nucleicacid encodes a protein having the amino acid sequence selected from thegroup consisting of: (a) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:45; (b) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:68; (c) theamino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:70; (d) the amino acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:72; (e) the amino acid sequence asset forth in SEQ ID NO:74; (f) the amino acid sequence as set forth inSEQ ID NO:76; (g) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:78;(h) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:59; (i) the aminoacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:61; and (j) the amino acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:66.

Clause 57. The nucleic acid molecule of any one of clauses 53-56,wherein the nucleic acid sequence encodes a light chain polypeptide, aheavy chain polypeptide, both a light chain polypeptide and a heavychain polypeptide, or fragments thereof.

Clause 58. The nucleic acid molecule of clause 57, wherein when thenucleic acid sequence encodes a light chain polypeptide and a heavychain polypeptide, the nucleic acid sequence also encodes a proteasecleavage site.

Clause 59. The nucleic acid molecule of clause 58, wherein the proteasecleavage site is located between the light chain polypeptide and theheavy chain polypeptide and wherein the protease cleavage site includesa furin cleavage site and 2A peptide sequence.

Clause 60. The nucleic acid molecule of any one of clauses 53-56,wherein the nucleic acid molecule further encodes an immunoglobulin (Ig)signal peptide.

Clause 61. The nucleic acid molecule of clause 60, wherein the Ig signalpeptide comprises an IgE signal peptide.

Clause 62. The nucleic acid molecule of any one of clauses 53-56,wherein the nucleic acid molecule comprises an expression vector.

Clause 63. A composition comprising the nucleic acid molecule of any oneof clauses 53-56.

Clause 64. The composition of clause 63 further comprising apharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

Clause 65. A method of preventing a disease in a subject in needthereof, the method comprising administering the nucleic acid moleculeof any one of clauses 53-56 to the subject.

Clause 66. The method of clause 65, wherein the disease is infection byChikagunya virus (CHIKV) or Dengue virus (DENV).

Clause 67. The method of clause 66, wherein when the disease isinfection by CHIKV, the nucleic acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:58; (b) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:60; and(c) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:65.

Clause 68. The method of clause 66, wherein when the disease isinfection by DENV, the nucleic acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:44; (b) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:67; (c)the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:69; (d) the nucleicacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:71; (e) the nucleic acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:73; (f) the nucleic acid sequence asset forth in SEQ ID NO:75; and (g) the nucleic acid sequence as setforth in SEQ ID NO:77.

Clause 69. The method of clause 66, wherein when the disease isinfection by CHIKV, the amino acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:59;(b) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:61; and (c) theamino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:66.

Clause 70. The method of clause 66, wherein when the disease isinfection by DENV, the amino acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:45;(b) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:68; (c) the aminoacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:70; (d) the amino acid sequenceas set forth in SEQ ID NO:72; (e) the amino acid sequence as set forthin SEQ ID NO:74; (f) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:76; and (g) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:78.

Clause 71. The method of clause 65, wherein administering includes atleast one of electroporation and injection.

Clause 72. A method of treating a disease in a subject in need thereof,the method comprising administering the nucleic acid molecule of any oneof clauses 53-56 to the subject.

Clause 73. The method of clause 72, wherein the disease is infection byChikagunya virus (CHIKV) or Dengue virus (DENV).

Clause 74. The method of clause 73, wherein when the disease isinfection by CHIKV, the nucleic acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:58; (b) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:60; and(c) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:65.

Clause 75. The method of clause 73, wherein when the disease isinfection by DENV, the nucleic acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:44; (b) the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:67; (c)the nucleic acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:69; (d) the nucleicacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:71; (e) the nucleic acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:73; (f) the nucleic acid sequence asset forth in SEQ ID NO:75; and (g) the nucleic acid sequence as setforth in SEQ ID NO:77.

Clause 76. The method of clause 73, wherein when the disease isinfection by CHIKV, the amino acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:59;(b) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:61; and (c) theamino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:66.

Clause 77. The method of clause 73, wherein when the disease isinfection by DENV, the amino acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (a) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:45;(b) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:68; (c) the aminoacid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:70; (d) the amino acid sequenceas set forth in SEQ ID NO:72; (e) the amino acid sequence as set forthin SEQ ID NO:74; (f) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO:76; and (g) the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:78.

Clause 78. The method of clause 72, wherein administering includes atleast one of electroporation and injection.

It is understood that the foregoing detailed description andaccompanying examples are merely illustrative and are not to be taken aslimitations upon the scope of the invention, which is defined solely bythe appended claims and their equivalents.

Various changes and modifications to the disclosed embodiments will beapparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications,including without limitation those relating to the chemical structures,substituents, derivatives, intermediates, syntheses, compositions,formulations, or methods of use of the invention, may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof.

1. A nucleic acid molecule encoding a synthetic antibody comprising oneor more nucleic acid sequences selected from the group consisting of:(a) (b) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 67, a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 67, a nucleic acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of a nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 67; (c) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least80% homologous to a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 69, afragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 69, a nucleicacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 69; (d) a nucleic acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to a nucleotide sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 71, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodesSEQ ID NO: 71, a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologousto a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 71; (e) anucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a nucleotidesequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 73, a fragment of a nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 73, a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 73; (f) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 75, a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 75, a nucleic acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of a nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 75; (g) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least80% homologous to a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 77, afragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 77, a nucleicacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 77; and (h) (i) (j) anucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a nucleotidesequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 65, a fragment of a nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 65, a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO:
 65. 2. (canceled)
 3. A nucleic acid molecule encoding a syntheticantibody comprising one or more nucleic acid sequences selected from thegroup consisting of: (a) (b) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to SEQ ID NO: 68, a fragment of an amino acid sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 68, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 68; (c) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous toSEQ ID NO: 70, a fragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 70, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to afragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 70; (d) anamino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 72, afragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 72, an aminoacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of an aminoacid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 72; (e) an amino acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 74, a fragment of an aminoacid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 74, an amino acid sequence that isat least 80% homologous to a fragment of an amino acid sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 74; (f) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to SEQ ID NO: 76, a fragment of an amino acid sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 76, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 76; (g) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous toSEQ ID NO: 78, a fragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 78, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to afragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 78; and (h)(i) (j) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to SEQ IDNO: 66, a fragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 66,an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment ofan amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:
 66. 4. (canceled)
 5. Thenucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid sequenceencodes a light chain polypeptide, a heavy chain polypeptide, both alight chain polypeptide and a heavy chain polypeptide, or fragmentsthereof.
 6. The nucleic acid molecule of claim 5, wherein when thenucleic acid sequence encodes a light chain polypeptide and a heavychain polypeptide, the nucleic acid sequence also encodes a proteasecleavage site.
 7. The nucleic acid molecule of claim 6, wherein theprotease cleavage site is located between the light chain polypeptideand the heavy chain polypeptide and wherein the protease cleavage siteincludes a furin cleavage site and 2A peptide sequence.
 8. The nucleicacid molecule of claim 1, wherein the nucleic acid molecule furtherencodes an immunoglobulin (Ig) signal peptide.
 9. The nucleic acidmolecule of claim 8, wherein the Ig signal peptide comprises an IgEsignal peptide.
 10. The nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein thenucleic acid molecule comprises an expression vector.
 11. A compositioncomprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim
 1. 12. The composition ofclaim 11 further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. 13.A method of preventing a disease in a subject in need thereof, themethod comprising administering the nucleic acid molecule of claim 1 tothe subject.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the disease isinfection by Chikagunya virus (CHIKV) or Dengue virus (DENV).
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein when the disease is infection by CHIKV, thenucleic acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of: (k) (l)(m) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to thenucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 65, a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 65, a nucleic acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO:
 65. 16. The method of claim 14, wherein when thedisease is infection by DENV, the nucleic acid sequence is selected fromthe group consisting of: (n) (o) a nucleic acid sequence that is atleast 80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:67, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 67, anucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment ofthe nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 67; (p) a nucleic acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 69, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodesSEQ ID NO: 69, a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologousto a fragment of the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 69; (q)a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to thenucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 71, a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 71, a nucleic acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 71; (r) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 73, afragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 73, a nucleicacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of thenucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 73; (s) a nucleic acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 75, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodesSEQ ID NO: 75, a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologousto a fragment of the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 75; and(t) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to thenucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 77, a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 77, a nucleic acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO:
 77. 17. The method of claim 14, wherein when thedisease is infection by CHIKV, the amino acid sequence is selected fromthe group consisting of: (u) (v) (w) an amino acid sequence that is atleast 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 66, a fragment of the amino acidsequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 66, an amino acid sequence that is atleast 80% homologous to a fragment of the amino acid sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO:
 66. 18. The method of claim 14, wherein when thedisease is infection by DENV, the amino acid sequence is selected fromthe group consisting of: (x) (y) an amino acid sequence that is at least80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 68, a fragment of the amino acid sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 68, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 68; (z) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous toSEQ ID NO: 70, a fragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 70, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to afragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 70; (aa) anamino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 72, afragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 72, an aminoacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the aminoacid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 72; (bb) an amino acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 74, a fragment of theamino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 74, an amino acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the amino acid sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 74; (cc) an amino acid sequence that is at least80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 76, a fragment of the amino acid sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 76, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 76; and (dd) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologousto SEQ ID NO: 78, a fragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQID NO: 78, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to afragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:
 78. 19. Themethod of claim 13, wherein administering includes at least one ofelectroporation and injection.
 20. A method of treating a disease in asubject in need thereof, the method comprising administering the nucleicacid molecule of claim 1 to the subject.
 21. The method of claim 20,wherein the disease is infection by Chikagunya virus (CHIKV) or Denguevirus (DENV).
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein when the disease isinfection by CHIKV, the nucleic acid sequence is selected from the groupconsisting of: (ee) (ff) (gg) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 65, afragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 65, a nucleicacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of thenucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:
 65. 23. The method of claim21, wherein when the disease is infection by DENV, the nucleic acidsequence is selected from the group consisting of: (hh) (ii) a nucleicacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to the nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 67, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 67, a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 67; (jj) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous tothe nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 69, a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 69, a nucleic acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 69; (kk) a nucleic acid sequence that is atleast 80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:71, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 71, anucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment ofthe nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 71; (ll) a nucleic acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 73, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodesSEQ ID NO: 73, a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologousto a fragment of the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 73;(mm) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to thenucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 75, a fragment of anucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 75, a nucleic acid sequencethat is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the nucleotide sequencethat encodes SEQ ID NO: 75; and (nn) a nucleic acid sequence that is atleast 80% homologous to the nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:77, a fragment of a nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 77, anucleic acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment ofthe nucleotide sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:
 77. 24. The method ofclaim 21, wherein when the disease is infection by CHIKV, the amino acidsequence is selected from the group consisting of: (oo) (pp) (qq) anamino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 66, afragment of an amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 66, an aminoacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of an aminoacid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:
 66. 25. The method of claim 21,wherein when the disease is infection by DENV, the amino acid sequenceis selected from the group consisting of: (rr) (ss) an amino acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 68, a fragment ofthe amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 68, an amino acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the amino acidsequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 68; (tt) an amino acid sequence that isat least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 70, a fragment of the amino acidsequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 70, an amino acid sequence that is atleast 80% homologous to a fragment of the amino acid sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 70; (uu) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to SEQ ID NO: 72, a fragment of the amino acid sequence thatencodes SEQ ID NO: 72, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%homologous to a fragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 72; (vv) an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous toSEQ ID NO: 74, a fragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ IDNO: 74, an amino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to afragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 74; (ww) anamino acid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 76, afragment of the amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 76, an aminoacid sequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the aminoacid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 76; and (xx) an amino acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to SEQ ID NO: 78, a fragment ofthe amino acid sequence that encodes SEQ ID NO: 78, an amino acidsequence that is at least 80% homologous to a fragment of the amino acidsequence that encodes SEQ ID NO:
 78. 26. The method of claim 20, whereinadministering includes at least one of electroporation and injection.